Points Of Authority
by Raexneol
Summary: EdxEnvy What happens when, in a strange turn of events, your worst enemy becomes your only source of escape? Possible spoilers Rating subject to rise.
1. Chapter 1

**Points Of Authority**

Yo! Envysloyalservant here… This is my first fic outside of Inu Yasha and under my new pen name. Yes, no more with the Inu Yasha… Anywho, this is, quite obviously, an EnvyxEd fic. Yes, my dear friends, this is yaoi. If you don't like it, guess what? You shouldn't read it. o.o But I hope you not only like and read it, but you review on it, too! Is that too much to ask?

… Okay, so the title really has nothing to do with the story (yet… I might find a way to fit it in…) That just happens to be the song I'm listening to right now. You should really listen to it, it's a really good EnvyxEd song. You know, like the show EnvyxEd- the whole "I hate you, I hope you die and burn in hell" thing. Yeah… On that topic, I obviously don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, or Roy would be consumed by his own flames in some freakish yet totally awesome "accident," and Envy and Ed would be lovers… O.o Does anyone see that happening? No:disappointed sigh: Me neither. Oh! FYI- I'm basing Envy more off of manga Envy, with some anime Envy moments… Okay, now I know you didn't click on this particular link to hear me talk, so I'm gonna get on with it now.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+

It was a still, dark night in East City. The only light came from the waning moon, which was hardly, if at all, noticeable. A sudden blackout had thrown the citizens of the city into a somewhat panicked state. East City Headquarters had dispatched a few groups to try to calm the citizens down, assuring them that the military was doing all it could to get the problem straightened out. While this was going on, a rather disgruntled blond-haired alchemist complained to his superior, a dark haired, chocolate eyed man, about the unfairness of his current situation.

"I'm not your handyman! Get someone who's paid to do this kind of stuff to fix your stupid machine!" Ed complained, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Are you telling me that you're disobeying a direct order from a superior officer?" Roy asked, lacing his fingers together and staring the younger man challengingly in his amber eyes. "Do I need to get you court marshaled for such a trivial thing?" Ed glared and opened his mouth to retort. Just as his assuredly scathing words that would have gotten him in some sort of trouble were about to leave his mouth, First Lieutenant Hawkeye stepped into the Colonel's office, standing stiffly at attention.

"Sir, there's something going on downtown, near the electric company," she reported. (A/N- Did they have electric companies back then:blinks: Sure they did, since they had to get their electricity somehow… Okay, question answered.) Roy looked at Ed as if to say, "Do you need any other reasons?" Ed simply glared and walked out.

He mumbled to himself the whole trip downtown, while Alphonse attempted to at least mildly douse his brother's anger. Al doubted much of his logic was getting through, however. In the end, he ended up simply listening, while Ed ranted about the Colonel, how dark the night was, and who would be stupid enough to try to dismantle a generator, anyway. When they finally reached the generator's location, Ed had practically talked himself hoarse and Al was basically deaf. They entered the dark electric company, (A/N- You'll have to forgive the way I refer to this stuff… I really know nothing about electricity or anything remotely relating to it… ''''') both were unaware of the three sets of eyes that were following them.

"See? I told you they'd send him."

"Stop gloating, we know you did. And if you don't stop bragging of your superiority, we're going to lose them."

"How can we lose them? This whole place is abandoned, and O'Chibi-san there speaks so loud, I could hear him from the other side of the city."

"Just shut up and follow them, Envy."

"Tch. Don't boss me around, Lust. I don't have to help you, you know."

"Then why do you?"

"…………… I dunno."

"I thought so. Now, move along." Just as they were about to take their first step, the third voice spoke up.

"Lust, I'm hungry." Envy sweatdropped and smacked his head, while Lust looked at him, considering his meal options.

"I don't know what to tell you, Gluttony."

"Go outside and catch yourself one of those pathetic idiots that's running around. I'm sure no one will see him…"

"Remember the last time you were sure of something?" Silence. "Okay. I'll go with him. You follow Fullmetal."

"But—"

"If he wants to fight, fight him, Envy."

"I don't like fighting!" Envy whined. "It hurts!"

"Not if you don't let him hit you, it doesn't." Lust sighed and walked out of the building with Gluttony, leaving no time for Envy to retaliate. Envy stood and watched them go, then slumped his shoulders and followed Ed. He finally caught up with the two in the generator room (A/N- That is what it's called, right?) and saw Ed studying the large machine.

"It looks like someone attacked it with a knife."

"But, brother, no one could do that. The metal's too thick, plus they'd get electrocuted, right?"

"You would think… So should we be looking for a body instead of a criminal? Is this even a criminal offense? I'd congratulate this guy, this is the most stress I've seen the Colonel under in one night."

"Brother…" Ed sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I can't help it if the guy's got it coming to him…" More rummaging through the wreckage. "Hey, Al, do you see anything missing?" Al walked up and took a look through the mess.

"Nothing. Maybe it's just collateral damage? I mean, you know, since this isn't really fit to be called anything but scrap metal now…"

"Good point. Shall we just tell them that it was unsalvageable?"

"You aren't even going to make an attempt to fix it, Ed?"

While they argued, Envy watched. And watched. And watched. And became bored. So, he decided to mess with the two for a bit. He threw a nearby rock and watched as it landed solidly on the backside of Edward's head.

"OW! Hey, what the hell!" He looked around the large room, looking for the source of the stone. He could find none."

"What happened, Ed?"

"I just got hit by a freaking rock! It flew outta nowhere!"

Envy snickered and threw another one. This one missed its target, though not by much, and clattered to the floor behind the two brothers. Ed jumped, turned, and walked to the rock. Envy took that time to sneak out from behind the door he was hiding behind and walk up behind Ed. He leaned over until his lips were right next to the smaller boy's ear and whispered one word.

"Boo."

Ed nearly jumped out of his skin. In a split second, his arm was transmuted and he slashed at the now empty air behind him where Envy once stood. The homunculus now stood, laughing, on the wreckage of the generator.

"Hello, Hagane no Chibi-san. Have you missed me?"

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+

Yeah, okay, kinda boring for a first chapter… I'm just trying not to take thing too fast… You know, because it's more fun it ya go from hate to love… Yesh… Erm… Wow. I really wish you guys would review, but I don't want you to take time out of your busy schedules… :Bambi eyes: But it would be awfully nice if you did. Only three seconds, just to tell me what I need to fix. Oh, by the way, flames are welcomed, but I'm only going to use them to further my hope to see Roy burn.

Until next time!

Envysloyalservant


	2. Chapter 2

**Points of Authority**

O.O Oh my God! Four reviews? On the first chapter! Wow! That's a record for me::feels über loved: Alright! And not one flame… X3

Wow, gosh, I wish I could respond to my reviews… Too bad I can't… If I could, however, I'd tell one of my reviewers that no, Envy is not a girl, though he does have the capability to be one, and yes, depending on the gender Envy chooses to be (though here, it shall remain male… usually), this could be considered yaoi or hetero.

I would also thank those that think so highly of my first chapter and would celebrate because they thought it was funny (I, personally, was afraid it was a bit dull… ''), and would beg them to continue reading and reviewing. But, since I'm not allowed to respond to the reviews, I'm afraid that those options are out of the question.

Disclaimer: Do I look Japanese to you? Do you really think I'm creative enough to create such a story as Fullmetal Alchemist? Do you see Ed and Envy hooking up in either the anime or the manga? No? Okay then. So, obviously, I do not own FMA.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

"Tch. Like hell. Who would be happy to see you?" Ed spat venomously, glaring at our favorite palm tree.

"Well, I don't know. Some people would, I'm sure of it…" Envy paused, thinking of all the people that would possibly be the least bit happy to see him. The list wasn't very long. Actually, it was basically non-existent. (A/N- Poor little palm tree… I'd be happy to see him, I dunno about you guys…) He shrugged it off, deciding he couldn't really care less. Besides, there were more important things happening now. Like the torment of Edward. "Okay, so maybe not. What makes me so bad?" He put on his best innocent look, quirking his head to the side in mock confusion and curiosity.

"Hm. Let's think about this. Oh! I've got it! The fact that you're a murderous, blood thirsty monster that's out for my head and I'm constantly having to go around and fix the messes you and your little posse make!" Ed said. Envy glared.

"You don't have to go 'fix' what we do. We'd rather you didn't. We do all those things for a reason, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Which is why I have to go fix them."

"Oh, so you want to get in our way."

"Sure, since you won't kill me anyway." Envy gave him a dubious stare. "….. Right?"

"Don't be too sure of yourself, Pipsqueak. You may be valuable, but you're not irreplaceable. We could always find another pawn in our plan if you get too… difficult, shall we say?" Ed's eyes narrowed.

"What plan?" Envy smacked his forehead.

"You mean this whole time we've been telling you and you haven't been listening! To make the Philosopher's Stone, you moron! Of course, then again… now that we have Wrath… I suppose you could be disposed of…" He grinned murderously. Edward gulped.

"I thought you didn't like fighting…" he said, hoping to remove the mischievous and deadly glint from the Sin's amethyst eyes.

"Tch. Like a fight against you could be considered any such thing. You think too highly of yourself, Hagane no." His lips curved into a smooth smile as he transformed his right arm into a large blade and lunged at Edward. (A/N- Let me take this moment to remind you that they are in a dark, abandoned room. Well, maybe not abandoned, but deserted for the moment. Now, Envy wears black and has very dark hair. Would you be able to dodge him? I wouldn't. Good thing Ed's not us, huh? . Just had to say it, sorry… n.n''')

Edward yelped and jumped aside just as the ground where he had been standing exploded into minute fragments upon the impact of Envy's blade. Envy smirked and kicked out at Ed, landing a kick square in the gut. He rolled, stunned by the impact, trying desperately to regain his breath, keep running, and transmute his arm all at the same time. He made it to the door of the room, which Alphonse was holding open, preparing to slam it shut, just as Envy reached him. Al slammed the door in Envy's face, and the brothers heard a distinct 'thud' followed by "OW! Bloody fucking hell ow!" On the other side of the door, Envy held his forehead, which now dripped a line of blood from a gash where the door had rent his flesh. He transformed, growling under his breath, into an uninjured body, then tried to yank open the door. Note the word 'tried'. Ed, in a stroke of momentary brilliance, had transmuted the door to the walls, creating a solid stretch of stone. Envy swore loudly several times before just kicking the damn thing down. He then stalked down the hallway after Ed and Al.

The Elric brothers, meanwhile, had reached the street at breakneck speed and were charging towards Headquarters.

"At least we know who did it now, eh, brother?" Alphonse stated, always the optimist.

"I'd rather we hadn't. I swear that just took five years off my life," Ed replied, grimacing. "That wasn't fair, surprising us like that. I just hope he's not too pissed about us getting away…"

"Why would you care how angry you made him, Ed?" Al questioned, looking at his brother as the continued their flight.

"Well… you know how he is… He'll probably… I dunno, try to find me tonight when I'm sleeping or something…" He shuddered at the thought of waking up to the effeminate man, grinning down at him with transmuted arm from his window sill, certain death reflected in his feline eyes. "Aw, man, now I'm gonna have nightmares… Ugh. This is shaping up to be a great day, don't you think?"

"Heh. I guess it is…" The two stopped, one out of breath, at the front doors of HQ. Ed pushed open the door and made his way down the candle-lit hall to the Colonel's office. He didn't even knock before barging in. The sight he saw made him clap his hands to his face to hold back his laughter.

Colonel Mustang sat at his desk, furiously writing on and stamping papers, while a none-too-happy First Lieutenant Hawkeye held her loaded gun to his temple. It was unbelievably obvious that the Colonel had been using the current situation to try and slack off on his paperwork. It was also unbelievably obvious that Riza had seen straight through the act. Ed somewhat regretfully cleared his throat. The two looked at him, and Riza dropped her gun. Roy's face was the very picture of relief.

"Fullmetal. You here to report your findings?" the Colonel asked, his voice totally serious.

"Yeah. The whole generator's busted up. I was going to fi-"

"Didn't you try to fix it?"

Edward twitched. "If you'd shut up and listen you'd find out, wouldn't you?" Mustang gave him a look, but rested his head on his hand and waited for him to continue. And continue he did. "As I was saying, I was going to fix it, but then I was stopped by the homunculus Envy. It turns out that they're the ones behind the whole generator ordeal."

"Why? That's so… Trivial."

"Eh. I dunno. Maybe they got bored? Anyway, that's all. The whole generator's busted up, so it's going to need to be totally replaced."

"You mean you couldn't go back down there and-"

"**No**. Goodnight, Colonel." And with that, he saluted and left. He met up with Al in the hallway and they went off to the hotel where they were currently staying. (A/N- That is where they stay, right? When they're in East City? Or do they stay in the military barracks? You know what? They stay in the hotel. There. Problem solved.)

After the short walk to the hotel, the two arrived in their room. Ed immediately flopped onto his bed and sighed heavily.

"I dunno about you, Al, but all I want's some sleep. I'm turning in for the night."

"I'll do the same. Goodnight, brother."

"G'night, Al." And with that, the two got situated in their consecutive beds and went to sleep, totally unaware of the grinning figure on the balcony, waiting for Morpheus to lull them into serene slumber before he struck.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Whew. Yeah, I know, kinda anti-climactic fight scene, but I've always wanted to see Envy slam into a closed door, and what better way to see it happen than to write it? XD You gotta admit, it was funny. Oh, and for all of you mythologically illiterate (not meaning to be insulting, please don't take it the wrong way!) people, Morpheus is commonly known as the Sandman. Just thought I'd throw that out there. Quick poll: Who thinks there should be a lemon later on? Not, like, immediately, but eventually? I'll keep the poll up for the next… Oh, three chapters or so, but if I don't get, let's say ten votes for it, I'll probably just drop the idea. Just figured I'd let you guys decide. Now… You know… It doesn't take that long to click that little review button down there… I'd love to hear your criticism, comments, or compliments! Don't forget, flames are openly welcomed!

Until later!

Envysloyalservant


	3. Chapter 3

**Points of Authority**

Wow! I keep feeling so loved! Eight reviews already, and I'm only on my second chapter! (Well, okay, this makes three… whatever…) Yay, I'm not the only EnvyxEd fan out there… X3 Oh! This was really cool, I thought. Chiruken reviewed on my story (HI! XD Sorry, had to do it.) and I'm totally obsessed with her story, The Pact. You should totally read it, it's an awesome EnvyxEd fic. Honorable mention, don't you feel special. XD No, I'm just kidding… :ducks and covers:

Disclaimer: … Uh… Uh… I don't own it? But I'd really, really like to.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

When their breathing had leveled and become regular, Envy silently pushed open the window of Ed and Al's room and slunk in. (A/N- Heh heh… slunk…) He stood over Ed's bed for a moment, contemplating just what he should do to the chibi. He decided that, first off, he needed to get Al out of the room, since there was no humanly, or inhumanly in his case, way to injure him and make him incapable of coming to his brother's aide. He thought for a moment, and came up with the perfect answer.

Sneaking out of the room again, he climbed down the side of the building, coming to rest on the ground below the Elric brothers' window. He looked up, grinned slightly, and gave off the most convincing kitten-in-need mewl that he could muster, which was pretty convincing. Sure enough, not but a minute later, the younger Elric snuck out of the hotel and made his way down the street, looking for a kitten in need.

Envy snickered as he made his way back up the side of the building and climbed back into the window. He leaned over Edward's bed, grinning like a maniac. A happy maniac.

He sat on the side of his bed and pondered what he could do to mess with his head. Several ideas popped into his head, not one of them that would end with a happy chibi. Then, an unwanted (A/N- I use that term loosely…) image popped into his mind's eye of him and Fullmetal sharing the same bed. Willingly. That sent him into a state of momentary shock. 'THE HELL! What was that!' He shook his head vigorously, trying to deter any more images of that nature, then continued on thinking about all the ways he could torture the pipsqueak. He played with the idea of simply smothering him to death with a pillow, but decided that not being able to see the look on his Chi— …………… On the Chibi's face as he died was no fun.

Seeing as he was lost in thought, he didn't notice when the object of his musings open his eyes, stifle a frightened shout, and pick up the lamp on the bedside table. He didn't even notice it when it was thrown at him. But he sure as hell noticed it when the damn thing hit him square on the head.

"Oh… OH! OWWWW! DUDE! WHAT THE HELL! I WAS JUST SITTING THERE!" Envy screamed, clutching the side of his head. (A/N- Real quick. Have any of you ever been hit with a lamp? I mean, really hit? It hurts. Bad.)

"Yeah, it's the fact that you were sitting there that made me throw it! What the hell are you doing in my room!" Ed snarled, transmuting his arm and glaring flaming daggers at the androgynous palm tree. The palm tree in question, however, simply sat in the corner of the room, cradling his now healed wound and pouting.

An uninvited smile found its way to Ed's lips. Really, the image of the indestructible and undefeatable homunculus sitting in the corner of his room and nursing a now nonexistent wound was quite a comical sight. Against his will, he laughed. Envy sulked some more.

"Oh, thanks, add insult to injury, why don't you?" he pouted, pulling his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs, and resting his chin on his knees. Ed simply shook his head. He then looked to the side, where Alphonse was supposed to be. He glared back at Envy.

"Where is he?"

"Oh, you mean your otouto-chan? He's chasing a nonexistent kittie around East City." Envy grinned, pleased with himself. "I must admit, I make quite a convincing kitten."

"……………And you're proud of this?" Ed looked at him dubiously.

"Well sure. One of the few things I do well."

"Oh, come on. You've gotta be able to do more than that."

"You'd be surprised."

"I'm serious."

"Name three."

Silence.

More silence.

"Erm… Okay, so maybe not."

"Toldja. Well, okay, I suppose that arson is a specialty… so is murder… and so is theft. So, there's three right off the bat. You need to have more faith in me, Hagane no."

"Yeah. Have faith in my sworn enemy. That's funny."

"… We're sworn enemies? When did we swear on that? I don't remember that." Ed smacked his forehead.

"It's a figure of speech!"

"Oh. Of course. I knew that."

A silence fell between the two. However, this was an unusually comfortable silence, one that was unmarred by the usual tension and apprehension that came with the two boys being in the same room together. This simple fact, however, made both the most uncomfortable they'd been in a while.

"So… erm… Why're you here again?" Ed finally broke the silence.

"I was coming to exact revenge for you basically busting my forehead open earlier, but you threw that god forsaken lamp at me before I could think up a good plan. Now I have to get revenge on you twice."

"… Then why aren't you getting revenge on me now?"

"Because you're expecting it now, baka! I can't very well get revenge on a totally aware enemy. You'll be expecting anything I do."

"Good point… Where is that lamp, anyway?" Envy pointed to a heap of broken pottery and electric wires lying desolately on the floor, looking for all the world like… well, like a broken lamp. Okay, a butchered lamp. "You do know that I'm going to have to pay for that lamp, right?"

"You lie. You can just use alchemy to fix it."

"…"

"Yes, yes, I know, damn my genius."

That made Ed laugh, and that made Envy rather angry. "Oi, did I say something funny, Shrimp?" Edward's laughter stopped, and he grabbed his pillow and chucked it at Envy. He caught it with ease and was, in a flash of movement, on Edward's bed and beating him with his own attempted weapon, a delighted grin upon his features as he watched the teen try ineffectually to block the blows. A chuckle escaped him.

Edward heard it and sent him a glare. He would be damned if he just sat there and took that. He lunged at Envy, tackling him, and sending them both flying off his bed and onto the floor, where they landed in a rather awkward position. Ed was astride Envy's hips, his hands pinning the Sin's to the floor, their fingers intertwined. All curses on Ed's behalf and laughter on Envy's died away instantly as they realized the close proximity their faces occupied. Both sets of eyes were wide, both's cheeks were dusted with a light shade of blush, whether from their previous activity or the feel of the one on top of the other neither wanted to guess.

Suddenly the sound of hollow metal footsteps interrupted the silence in the room, signaling a certain someone's return. Both turned to the door. Then, in not a second's time, Ed found himself sprawled on the floor, the window curtains fluttering in the gentle evening breeze. Ed stared out into the pitch-blackness, wondering if what had happened really had. And that was how Alphonse found him when he walked in, sprawled out, legs splayed in front of him, supported on his arms, leaning backwards, looking out the window into the night.

"Brother…?"

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Whew. Wow. That was… Hard to write. I figured you guys wanted to see me move it along… I've got a very vague idea where I'm going with this fic, and I'm trying not to rush anything… It's hard, though… -.- Whew… Man… Okay. I'm done. Erm… That's all until tomorrow, I suppose… I actually may not be able to post tomorrow… I'll try, just for you guys, though. lol Yeah, because I know you care that much… Well, don't forget to review (Please? I love them. They make me feel happy. Start my day off well… I read them before I go to school, ya know… ) and don't forget to read Chiruken's story, The Pact, too! It's awesome, I'm telling you.

Hasta mañana!

Envysloyalservant


	4. Chapter 4

**Points Of Authority**

I figured I might as well get out a real quick chapter before I went to bed… You know… Just because I've been so good at updating within a day… Why break the chain now? Oh, my gosh! I feel so unbelievably great about this story! Within the first five minutes of me posting the last chapter last night, I got two reviews! You guys ROCK! X3 Just thought I should letcha know just how much you guys brighten my day.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy walked sullenly through the darkness until he arrived at Dante's large manor. His thoughts were on the night's events.

'Why the hell was I so… so… Augh! I can't even think now! Damnit! Why am I so affected by this! You'd think it wouldn't matter! It's no big deal! It's not like I'm crushing… on… Oh. Oh, fuck no. Hell no.' His eyes went wide as realization slapped him mercilessly across the face, leaving an almost distinguishable sting, not only on the face, but on his pride. 'I can't be in love! Homunculi can't fall in love, damnit! They just can't! No, no, it must just be… just be… A mistaken emotion. Yeah. Yeah, that's it.'

And so, with that feeble attempt at reassurance to himself, he opened the grand door of the manor and began ascending the large staircase that led up to his room. Lust, home for a rare moment of the closest thing they had to peace before going off on her next mission, intercepted him on his way there.

"Hmm? Envy, you look preoccupied. What's wrong?" Lust asked, not quite trying to cheer him up, yet curious none the less.

"Huh?"

Lust's eyebrow ticked. She knew he knew that she hated repeating herself. And, sure enough, as he walked off, she saw a smug smirk on his features.

He stalked into his room, slamming the door and throwing himself upon his bed. He reached under the mattress and pulled out a collection of daggers, then turned over onto his back and began throwing them onto the ceiling. It was obvious that he did this often, judging from the many dagger-induced gouges in the ceiling. Each time, he tried to conjure up the image of someone he hated, focusing on a spot on the ceiling and trying to picture their face on the surface, then throwing the dagger and trying to hit them square in the forehead. He noticed, however, that when he tried to put Edward's face on the ceiling, he couldn't quite get the dagger out of his hand. And that frustrated him beyond words.

Lust opened the door, only to have a dagger flung her way. Though it landed square in her forehead, she pulled out, throwing Envy a slight glare as the cascade of blood falling from the gaping wound in her forehead lessened as the wound healed itself.

"Okay, now I know something's wrong. You only break out the daggers when you're pissed off."

"I'm always pissed off. This attitude shouldn't surprise you in the least."

"What happened to piss you off? Who did it? Should we go kill them?"

"NO!" Lust raised an eyebrow, and Envy flushed slightly. "Erm… That is… I… uh, I want to take care of them myself. Don't interfere, Lust."

"Humph. As long as it isn't that Fullmetal kid I don't really care."

Envy fell silent. That made Lust curious.

"It isn't Fullmetal, is it?"

Envy sent her a wayward glance. "No. I just didn't have a response to your comment. That a crime?"

Lust rolled her eyes. "Okay, obviously, you're not in a very talkative mood right now."

He gave her a mock shocked expression. "Really? What gave it away? Was it my silence? The way I've been ignoring you since you stepped in here? My blatant sarcasm?"

Lust glared. "All of the above."

Envy shrugged. "If you don't like it, you can leave. This isn't your room anyways."

She sighed and walked out, shutting his door and encasing him in darkness once more. When her footsteps had receded into the distance, he stowed the daggers back under his mattress and slid himself between his covers, pulling the black comforter up to his chin and rolling onto his side. He tried to go to sleep, but every time his eyes closed, his mind's eye was assaulted with images of Edward. And, to be totally honest, that was the last person the Sin wanted to think of at the moment, or so he tried to convince himself. After a half hour of tossing and turning, trying to get the image of Ed out of his mind, he finally rolled over onto his stomach fiercely, punching the pillow in anger. 'Well, guess who's going to be in a really bad mood tomorrow…'

Meanwhile, all the way across the manor, on the third floor, Lust knocked on Dante's door. The door opened, revealing an elderly woman, seemingly harmless and very out of place in the manor, especially to be lodging with five of the seven Sins.

"Lust?"

Lust bowed, then raised back up, looking Dante in the eye. "We need to talk."

"About what?"

"Envy. I believe that there's… something wrong. Something that might jeopardize our mission. Something that involves Edward Elric."

Dante's expression turned serious, a slight sinister look crossing her features. "And it has to do with Envy as well, you say?"

Lust nodded.

"Well, then, come in, child, come in. And I can only hope that you aren't about to tell me what I think you are."

"I'm afraid I might have to dash your hopes, Mother."

Dante let out a sigh. "I was afraid of that… To lose Envy would be a tragedy… We'd have to make a stronger homunculus to take his place…"

Lust nodded again.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Dun dun duuuuuun! XD I'm sorry, I had to do it. So… What're Dante and Lust planning? What does Envy have to do with it? Is our favorite palm tree in grave danger? Tune in next time to find out!

Overall, I was kinda happy with this chapter… I'm glad that I've finally managed to incorporate some of what the summary says into this… I had absolutely no idea where this was headed when I typed the first chapter, but I think I've got a pretty good grip on it now. Yay! Anyway, the usual, please don't forget to review, it would make my day!

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


	5. Chapter 5

**Points of Authority**

Wow. I got a buncha people saying "You can't kill Envy!" Of course I can't! He's my little palm tree! He shall prevail! X3

Anyway… Yeah, I do update fast, this I realize… I don't like to keep my wonderful readers waiting, I suppose. :Ayame laugh: … Though I am in quite a fix… I have to have them try to do something to Envy-kun… But what? Hmmm… This'll be an interesting chapter, of that I'm sure. Okay, I hope. Hope is always good. Yesh…

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy lay restlessly in his room, a strange sense of foreboding making it impossible for him to sleep. (A/N- RUUUNN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, ENVY! No, I'm just kidding… XD) He blew it off as simply an imagined feeling, possibly derived from the day's events.

_Oh, fabulous, now if I think any thought remotely having to do with that, I can't stop imagining the way Ed's— WHOA! Bad Envy! Bad! That is the last place your mind needs to be right now!_ Envy shook his head vigorously, trying to push all unwanted yet oddly pleasant— _No! Not pleasant! Repulsive! REPULSIVE, DAMMIT!—_ thoughts from his head. He buried his head into his pillow, attempting to block them out, but the less the light, the stronger the images became. He decided that sleep was highly overrated anyway, and, jumping out his window, went for a— hopefully— relaxing walk through East City's park.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Ed lay on his bed in the hotel room, arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. He sighed and turned his head to look at his brother. It had taken him only a second to make up an explanation as to why he was on the ground, blushing, hair tousled, tangled up in his sheets, looking out the window as if expecting to see someone, with a broken lamp in the corner of the room. He knew that it would take his brother longer to actually accept the story as truth. He knew that the only reason that his otouto-chan had allowed the subject to drop was because Ed was so obviously out of it.

Deciding that his lying to his brother was the last thing he needed to be dwelling on, he turned on his side, facing the window, and closed his eyes.

Half an hour later and sleep was still as far from Ed as the Philosopher's Stone. Thoughts of Envy, the way he looked, the way he moved, the way his outfit fit him in all the right places, leaving just enough to the imagination, the way he must taste… That last thought made him blush furiously. It also did absolutely nothing to help his sleep deprivation. He was getting frustrated. Ed was tired, and when he got tired, he got irritable. He definitely didn't want to come in to work irritable the next day, seeing as how the Colonel, that bastard, would just take the opportunity to push his buttons. He sighed heavily, rolling out of bed and collecting his clothes, throwing them on with vague annoyance. _What I need_, he thought to himself, _is a walk._

And, with that thought, he walked out of the room quietly, sneaking down the hallway and the adjacent staircase, opening the door of the hotel, and heading towards East City's park.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy sat in one of the many trees lining the concrete sidewalk in the park. He was hoping, though not highly, for an unsuspecting victim to scare the daylights out of, if not kill. After all, he was bored, and when he got bored, bad things happened.

What felt like an hour (but was actually about five minutes) passed him by, and he was about to leave, when he heard approaching footsteps on the path. His eyes widened and he grinned disbelievingly at his luck. He pulled the single dagger that he had taken with him out of his glove, grin turning feral, amethyst eyes glinting dangerously in the moonlight. When the object of his attack stepped into view, however, those slitted eyes widened and he dropped his weapon. _Of course_, he thought bitterly, _the one person I'm trying to avoid just happens to be as restless as me. And, not only that, but we have the same idea of relax— well, I'm sure he isn't out here to kill someone to relax himself…_

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Edward turned at the sound of something falling. His eyes narrowed, trying to discern whatever was in the darkness of the forest bordering the path. _It's probably nothing… An owl, or a stick that fell off of a tree… You're overreacting, Ed, freaking yourself out. _His heart racing, he transmuted his arm, inching closer to the darkness, his weapon at the ready.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy stood in the darkness, watching as Ed walked hesitantly towards the woods. On the other side of the path. He snickered, then clapped his hands to his mouth, then mentally cursed, because the slapping of his hands had made a louder noise than the snicker. _Well, there goes my hiding place… I swear, I'm such a genius…_

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Ed turned suddenly, hearing something from the other side of the path. _What the… Was that a snicker? _"Who's there?" he called out, walking closer and closer Envy's hiding spot. Envy was too busy cursing himself and his idiocy to realize just how close the alchemist was until they were practically nose to nose. Both noticed the other's presence at the same time and jumped back, emitting a startled yell.

"Envy! What the… What are you doing here!" Ed yelled, clutching his heart, gasping for air, and remembering at the last moment to throw the Sin a glare.

"I could ask you the same question, O'Chibi-san. And I think I will. What's an important military figure doing wandering the streets of East City at four o'clock in the morning? Causing trouble, are we?" Envy replied, trying for the world to retain his casual and cocky façade and failing miserably. Unfortunately for the palm tree, Edward noticed.

"What's wrong with you? You seem all… out of sorts."

Envy raised an eyebrow. "Who says I'm of any particular sort?"

"………………That made no sense."

Envy just grinned. "Seriously, though, what are you doing out here so late?"

Ed flushed and looked away. "I uh… You know, I couldn't sleep. That's all. I just couldn't sleep. So I decided to… take a walk." _In other words, I can't get you out of my head… Damn you… Why do you have to be so… So… _"Why are you out here? Out to wreak havoc?"

Envy noticed the shorter man's flush and blushed a matching shade of red. "Eh… you know… Same reason… Couldn't sleep and all that jazz." _Ohgodohgodohgodohgod, I really hope he can't read minds right now… That would suck………… AAH! BAD THOUGHTS! BAD THOUGHTS! _He unconsciously began shaking his head, closing his eyes and putting his fingers to his temples, trying to block out all the images. His face turned a deeper shade of red.

Ed looked on curiously, unsure of the homunculus's odd behavior. _He looks like he has a fever… Can homunculi even get sick? … Is he blushing! Oh, this is good…_ Edward grinned sadistically. "Having pleasant thoughts, Envy-kun?" he purred, sidling up next to the Sin and resting a hand on his firm chest. He snickered as Envy's face turned three previously undiscovered shades of red, silently celebrating that he had finally found a way to defeat the Sin. So what if it was cheating?

Envy's heart nearly stopped. He slowly slid his eyes open, only to be met with the golden orbs that could only belong to two people, Edward and that bastard of a man who used to be his father. Both were suddenly aware of how close their faces were, and Envy was immensely shocked to realize that Ed's was only getting closer. Ed, in the meantime, was shocked that he was being so bold. Screw bold, he decided that, if his presumptions about Envy's emotions were incorrect, this was downright suicidal.

But, as their lips met, ever-so-softly, he also realized that he couldn't care less.

About thirty feet away, hidden by some sparse shrubbery, Lust smiled. This was precisely what she needed to get rid of the only thing that stood between her and the favoritism of Dante. Speaking of Dante…

Lust turned to face her creator. "I see my presumption was correct."

"So it was."

"What shall we do about his treason, Mother?"

"What else? **Kill him**."

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

O.O Oh, yeah, how's that for a cliffhanger? Lol. Well, don't forget to review! Like I've said before, flames are welcome, but they will only aide in my destruction of the high and mighty Flame Alchemist. Or to make yummie s'mores. Whichever appeals to me the most at the moment.

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


	6. Chapter 6

**Points of Authority**

O.O Twenty five reviews! Wow! That's so awesome::dances: The most I've ever gotten on a story so far! Yeah! … Sorry, but this excites me to no end. Lol, yeah, that's sad…

Okay, to all of you who asked… This is actually an EdxEnvy story… I accidentally reversed it on the description (I think… o.O I can't remember.) so I just thought I'd letcha know. There's just something about a uke (submissive… yeah…) Envy that appeals to the rabid yaoi fangirl inside me.

Oh! Hey! I've been added to the c2 Endvy! Woo! I just so happen to practically live there… so… That's a mega-huge honor for me! WOO! Man, and here I was thinking that this would just be another totally disregarded story… :feels loved: And I have 639 hits! I mean, whoa, that's a lot. Why haven't all of you reviewed? XD I'm just kidding. I'm glad to know that someone reads this. And, obviously, a bunch of someones do. Lol.

Anyway, back on to the story and stuff… No, I'm not going to kill Envy… Or am I? Hm? Wouldn't that be tragic… :thinks: I might, I might… Unless I start getting death threats. (In all honesty, I don't think I could bring myself to do it…) There's more of a possibility that I'll kill off… Well, I suppose you'll just have to keep reading and see, huh? Out of curiosity… Do any of you guys actually take the time to read this? Or am I just rambling to myself?

Disclaimer: (Since I forgot it last time… and the time before… I think…) I do not own FMA. Obviously, because I'm having to write this story to see my favorite couple get together. If I actually owned FMA, it would probably just be a lot of… Well… Nevermind. This is rated T, after all. ;;;

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy went rigid. (A/N- And as soon as I type that, I see how severely misunderstood it can be… ¬.¬ Aw, hell, the more sexual innuendo the better. XD) A kiss was the absolute last thing he ever expected to get from Ed. Yet, here they were, in the park, at four o'clock in the morning, kissing. And he was… Dare he say it? Enjoying it. Immensely.

Edward, upon sensing the stiffening of Envy (A/N- XD I'm sorry… I'm such a sick minded person…) stepped away, expecting a blade in the gut. Envy didn't budge. He just stood there, fingertips gently resting on his lips, looking as though he were waging an inner battle. He snapped out of it, delicately shaking his head and turning his attention to Edward. He searched for his voice. And his breath. When he found at least one, he threw on his trademark smirk, trying to speak offhandedly.

"You look frightened, O'Chibi-san…" Envy crooned, tilting his head to the side and casting him a curious look.

"Heh. Well, I… uh…" Ed placed a hand behind his head, looking down to the ground, searching for the words to describe exactly what he was thinking.

"You expect me to kill you now or something?" Envy raised an eyebrow.

"… Yeah, let's put it that way."

Envy shrugged. "If that's what you want." Ed's eyes widened and he stepped back. Envy laughed. "You're so gullible," he gasped, doubling over and clutching his stomach.

Ed glared. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever. I wouldn't doubt that you've killed people for kissing you." Envy's laughter stopped. He straightened, looking off to the side in a feigned casual movement. Ed raised an eyebrow. "You… have been kissed before, right?" Envy's eyes widened slightly, and he turned to Edward.

"O- of course I have! Don't be stupid. I've only been alive for four hundred years," he said, crossing his arms across his chest in a very unconvincing manner.

Ed was shocked, to say the least. "You've never been kissed?"

"Yes I ha—"

"The one I—" a blush rose to his cheeks "— The one I gave you doesn't count."

Envy snapped his mouth shut. "Hmph. What does that matter. That has nothing to do with the price of sake in Japan." (A/N- I'm sorry. I've always loved that analogy, because you can change it to be anything you want…)

"Yeah, but—"

"What I've done with my life or lack of it has nothing to do with you, Hagane no."

"You're evading the question."

"Ugh! Yes, okay? That was my first kiss, now drop it! Jeez…" he muttered darkly to himself. "Now, if you don't mind, I believe that I need to get back to our… erm… base thingy."

"Where is that, anyway?" Ed asked, not really expecting to get an answer. His expectations were met.

"Tch. Like I'd tell you. Not only would that be suicide for you, but that would be treason for me. And I don't feel like getting punished. I've gone a good fifty years without punishment. I don't need to break that lucky streak," Envy said, jumping into a tree and, from there, jumping branch to branch until he reached the rooftops of East City, and continuing on from there. Ed followed him with his eyes.

"Nii-san?" Alphonse came around a corner in the path. Ed jumped.

"O-oh. H-hey, Al. Heh heh… Uh… What're you doing out here?" Ed said, clutching his chest in an attempt to calm his racing heart.

"Looking for you. Where have you been? Why are you out here this early in the morning? And what were you looking at?" Alphonse asked, giving him the best glare he could muster, which was a very good one. "You've been acting odd lately."

"Heh… I couldn't sleep, so I came out here. I've been here the whole time… Sorry for not leaving a note or something, it just didn't strike me to do so at the time. As for what I was looking at…" He racked his brain for a good excuse. "I was… really just spaced out. You know, looking at nothing." He fervently prayed to whoever, if anyone, was listening. He then chided himself for being so foolish. That didn't stop him from silently reciting another one.

Alphonse was skeptical, to say the least, but he knew that if his brother was hiding something from him, it was probably worth hiding. "Alright, Nii-san, but if you ever decide to tell me what's really going on… I won't judge you, you know."

Ed sighed.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Envy sighed heavily as he climbed in the window of his room. He, for the second time that night, threw himself down onto the bed, facing the ceiling. Needless to say, he had a lot on his mind.

_What the hell? I thought homunculi couldn't feel emotions. So why do I… I dunno… Why do I suddenly freeze up whenever I see him? Why can't I kill him! This has never happened before! Am I getting soft? Oh, great. That's just what I need. Stupid human emotions. I thought I rid myself of those when I died… Ho-hum. Isn't that a bummer……… What I really don't understand is why I'm disappointed that the kiss didn't last longer… Why do I want to kiss him again? … Am I in love? NO! NONONONONONONONONONO! _He buried his head in his pillow, throwing a mini-tantrum on his bed. When he grew tired of acting so childish, he turned back over onto his back, glaring at all the gorges in the ceiling. He was so busy glaring that he didn't even notice when his door opened, sliding noiselessly on the oiled hinges.

"Envy."

The androgynous teen turned. "Whaddya want, Lust?"

"Mother would like to speak with you," she said, a malicious glint in her eyes. Envy failed to catch it, and sat up, crossing his legs and leaning back on his arms.

"What the hell does she want with me?"

"Like I'd know. She just told me to fetch you."

"Ah. Well. So you have. Good doggie." Envy grinned at his joke. Lust, however, didn't think it was so funny.

"You're a riot."

"I know, I know." He stood, stretching, and walked past Lust, heading to the other side of the manor. Lust remained in his doorway, a feral grin spread across her features, and in her eyes was the joy of sending someone away to certain death.

"Better go get Gluttony… Disposal of the body is key, after all." With that, she turned deftly and walked down the hall opposite the way Envy had gone.

Across the manor, Envy knocked on Dante's door.

"Who is it?" a voice called out.

"Who else. What do you want, Dante?" Envy said irritably.

"Ah. Envy. Please," she opened the door, "come in." Envy crossed his arms defiantly, but entered the room anyway. Dante grinned a grin similar to Lust's as she shut the door. Envy was taking in the scenery of Dante's room, which he had never entered, when he heard the ominous click of the lock. He swiveled around, eyes widening as he took in the look on his mother's face.

"I've heard and seen some very… interesting things within the past two hours, Envy. I wish I could disregard them as mere fantasy, but… Well, fraternization with the enemy, especially one as dangerous to us as Edward Elric, is treason of the worst kind." Envy paled.

"You— you saw that?" he whispered in horror.

"I'm afraid I did, my child. And I'm afraid I cannot allow this to go on." She motioned to the floor, and Envy realized with choking horror that he stood directly in the middle of a transmutation circle. "I cannot kill the boy, for he is still too precious to our plan, but you… Well, my son, I regret to say that you are quite disposable. I have six more just like you, after all."

"Mother…" he whispered, his voice shaking. His whole body trembled, and he pleaded with his eyes. "Please…"

"You have been a loyal servant, Envy. But I'm afraid that this cannot be overlooked." She knelt, her hands hovering over the chalk line. Envy stood, rooted to the ground, too paralyzed with his forthcoming doom to wrench himself away from the floor upon which he stood. His every fiber was screaming at him to run, but he couldn't convince himself to move.

As Dante set her hands upon the transmutation circle, setting loose the alchemic energy, she grinned, a grin full of all the malice, disgust, and hatred she felt for the creature that had once been her human son.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Ed and Al walked along a road leading out of East City and into the more rural area surrounding it. Ed had been incapable of sleep when he returned to the hotel, so Al agreed to accompany him on a walk. They had been wandering for some time now, and were a good seven or eight miles out of East City. They passed fields, farms, and a few bigger, obviously much older houses. Ed saw another one of the latter kind about two miles ahead.

"Hey, Al, look. There's another one of those manors. Aren't they creepy? Man, you couldn't pay me enough to stay in one of those old, abandoned things."

"Heh. You afraid of ghosts, Brother? You, the great Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Ed glared playfully. "You makin' fun of me?"

Just as Al was about to retort, a blood-chilling scream of utmost pain sounded through the sleepy countryside.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Whew. Man. That was a long chapter… o.O So… What did you think? I figure I'll go into more detail about the pain Envy-kun's feeling right about now next chapter. Yeah, I'll definitely do that. Sorry for my pathetic attempt at a cliffhanger. Oh, and a quick poll, just to sate my curiosity: Do you think someone should die? If so, who? I just wanted to know. I'll love you forever if you review! I promise! o.o

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


	7. Chapter 7

**Points of Authority**

Lol Well, so far, we have about ten votes for picking Dante off, one for Alphonse (so Envy could comfort Ed- I couldn't do it, but I kinda considered it), and several death threats if I kill Envy. '' Don't worry! He isn't dead, though he is dying……… I should fix that… And with that thought, onward and offward!

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy screamed in pain, clutching and scratching at every exposed place on his body. His whole being felt as though he were being consumed by fire and then doused with acid. His breathing became labored as his incomplete Philosopher's Stone was consumed by the alchemic energy. Dante sat there, her hands on the transmutation circle, smiling with glee as she watched her eldest creation die. Finally, when his body could no longer take any more, he collapsed, laying as still as a corpse. (A/N- See where I'm going with this? Yes? Okay. Good.)

Dante smiled, believing her job to be complete. She opened the door to her room and walked down the hall, looking for Lust and Gluttony. The moment she left, Envy stirred, lifting himself heavily on one arm. His breaths came in shaky bursts, quick and shallow, and he was shaking uncontrollably. Bereft of his superhuman powers, he was unable to transform or regenerate in order to recuperate, so he painstakingly crawled to the door and latched on to it, gingerly pulling himself up, inch by agonizing inch, until he was standing upright. As the world around him spun, one thought managed to surface, to break through the haze and make itself known to his conscious mind.

_Where the hell am I going to go?_

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

"What was that, Brother?" Alphonse asked, stopping dead in his tracks, concern lacing his voice.

"I… I dunno… It came from that manor up there…" Ed replied, staring at the mansion, looking for any possible signs of life. _That scream… The voice… It sounded familiar… But who? Who was it?_

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy slunk down the hall as quietly as his burning body would allow, trying in vain to stifle his labored breathing. He was forced to duck into Greed's abandoned room when he heard Dante, Lust, and Gluttony heading towards Dante's room. The moment they passed, Envy was out of the bedroom, hurrying down the hall with a renewed vigor. He knew that if he didn't make it to the grand staircase by the time they reached Dante's bedchambers, he would have no chance of escaping the manor alive.

A few tense moments later, he was stumbling down the stairs, clutching the rail to help steady him, praying that he could make it to the door. He heard an angry yell from Dante resonate through the halls, then she barked the order for his capture. He was just limping toward the exit, his only chance at freedom, when he was impaled by one of Lust's nails. She pinned his shoulder to the door, effectively thwarting his attempted escape. He cried out in pain, unable to yank away and heal the wound. She smiled at his affliction as she sauntered over to him.

"What's wrong, Envy?" she asked smoothly.

"Oh, let's think. I'm pinned to a door by your nail… thing…, I've just been rendered practically helpless, and I no longer have any means of healing myself," he spat, craning his head to throw her a particularly vicious glare.

"Well, if you had just gone ahead and died like a good little boy, you wouldn't be in this predicament."

"That's the problem."

"What?"

He turned suddenly, aiming a roundhouse kick at Lust's stomach and making solid contact. Her lance-like nail was ripped rather painfully from his arm, and the now unsealed wound gushed blood. Envy flung open the door and bolted down the road, heading toward East City.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

As Ed and Al neared the mansion, they heard another scream, this one of anger.

"You think they're having a domestic dispute or something?" Al asked, looking at his elder brother. Ed shrugged.

"Sounds pretty bad to be considered domestic…" he commented. They continued their trek. Suddenly, when they were about a mile from the estate, the front door was flung open, and out bolted a scantily-clad, green haired youth. "Hey… That's Envy!" Ed exclaimed. Just as the words left his mouth, Lust stormed out behind him, her retractable nails surging forward, all five catching Envy in the back. He let out a strangled, pained yelp, then fell, going limp as Lust continued to hold him upright by use of the spears imbedded in his back. (A/N- O.O I'm just torturing the poor palm tree, aren't I? Man, I'm starting to feel bad…) His head lolled forward, arms limp at his sides, legs dangling, as Lust walked forward, retracting her nails more as she got closer to her victim.

Ed, without hesitation, began running full-tilt toward them. He clapped his hands and, when he was close enough, slammed them to the ground, creating a cage around Lust. _It won't hold her for long_, he thought, _but I may be able to stall her long enough to get Al to take Envy back to our hotel…_

"Fullmetal. What a pleasant surprise," Lust said sarcastically, leaning casually against the bars of her makeshift prison, letting Envy fall rather ungracefully to the ground to land in a heap, blood pooling around him.

Ed slowed as he reached him, leaning over and gently examining him, checking Envy for the most critical wounds. There were many of them.

"What the hell have you done to him," he growled, transmuting his arm into a blade and stalking closer to the confined Lust. Alphonse, meanwhile, quickly gathered up the bloodied Envy and began running as fast as he could (which was pretty fast) toward East City.

"Well, I was trying to finish him off, but you interfered, and so I'm not guessing I'm going to get to, am I?" she wrapped an arm around her waist, placing her other arm upright upon it and resting her chin in her palm.

"No, you're not."

"How sweet, looking out for your boyfriend, are we?"

Ed blushed. "What the hell are you—"

"Oh, come now. Don't think I didn't see that kiss in the woods this morning. Yes, it's practically all your fault that Envy is in this condition. Or is fraternization with the enemy not a crime of treason in the military?" She lay her other arm upon the first, crossing her arms and cocking her hip to the side.

"Don't preach to me."

"Oh, I'm not. You're lucky, since you know our little secret, I can't really fight you, now can I? Although I wish you the best of luck saving your dear Envy. I believe it is too late for him now." She gave him a sick, twisted smile of pure evil before turning on her heel, slicing through the bars on the opposing side, and smoothly making her way back toward the manor. Ed, however, stood rooted to his place in shock and fear, the full weight of Lust's words sinking in, but totally unwilling to believe them. He turned in a whirl of movement, running frantically back toward East City, praying the whole time that he wasn't too late.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Edward burst into his and Al's shared room, taking in the scene before him with a sinking dread. Envy lay on his, Edward's, bed, heavily bandaged. The sheets stopped at his waist, concealing whatever damage may have covered his lower body. His clothes, torn, bloodied, and useless, lay in a pile in the corner.

The young alchemist slowly, numbly, made his to Envy's side. He looked paler than usual, and he showed no visible signs of life. Ed reached out, running his fingers over the homunculus's soft cheek, tears beginning to form in the corners of his eyes.

_Envy… You… You can't die… You just can't…_ he thought, brokenly, at that moment swearing vengeance tenfold upon whoever did this to Envy. One tear made its way down his tanned cheek, halting at his jaw line and holding on to it, clinging to his skin like he clung to his hope. He collapsed to his knees, taking one of Envy's hands and pressing his forehead to it.

Al watched this whole scene from Ed's side, realization suddenly dawning on him. He lay a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Nii-san…"

And with that one, simple word, Ed broke down.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Now, before you murder me, let me make this clear: He. Isn't. Dead. Okay? So, no death threats (well, okay, you can threaten, just don't actually carry out your threats), and no… well, no, go for it, flame me… but still… He. Isn't. Dead! Okay? Okay. Review, review! I'm still taking the poll. For those of you who missed it: Do you think anyone should die, and if so, who? I'd love to hear your criticism, comments, compliments, or complaints! Review! I'll love you… for… for… I'll just love you… Okay?

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


	8. Chapter 8

**Points of Authority**

Woo! I got the day off from school! Yeah! … Okay, so, since I have the day off, and it's currently, like, 10:30 a.m., I'm going to try to work on this all day and make it a good sized chapter (you must understand, I'm very featherbrained, I get distracted easily and wander off from my computer to read or watch TV or listen to music or something like that.)

I'm glad no one actually threatened to kill me, though I was threatened to be beaten with a porkchop… That disturbed me… Seeing as how I don't like pork much.

Don't you guys worry, Envy will get his powers back before the final battle with Dante. Yes, it has been decided, Dante will die. I can just see you all celebrating. o

Disclaimer (I keep forgetting about this thing…) : Do you see Dante and Lust actually turning on Envy? Do you see Edward freaking out because he thinks Envy is dead? No? Then, if you don't see these things, isn't it safe to assume I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist? Yes? Wonderful. You're catching on.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy's eyes slowly, painfully, slid open. He flinched at the sparse light in the room, wincing as he turned his head. He sensed a presence on his left side, and tried to turn so he could see who it was. He abruptly stopped, biting back a yelp of pain, as pain seared through his body, burning worse than any fire, from his right shoulder and various points in his back. _Oh… yeah… Forgot about those…………… Wait… Where am_ _I? Why am I not dead?_ He groaned. _Probably left just barely alive and locked in a dungeon to be tortured or something. Woo. Fun, fun. I can't wait._

The figure at his side stirred. It lifted its head briefly, and, as its golden eyes met Envy's, he suddenly knew where he was.

Ed's eyes widened as he looked up to see Envy looking right back at him.

"… You're alive!" he practically shouted, jumping up and placing his hands none-too-gently on the side of Envy's bed. _Oh, thank God, thank God, thank God!_ Envy flinched at the loud tone of Ed's voice.

"Barely…" his voice, weary from all the screaming he had done previously (A/N- Bad, bad mind! Bad! Sorry… :shakes head: I really need to stop reading all those lemons… o.O), came out barely above a whisper. "Where… Well, it's obvious where I am, so let me ask a more pressing question. Why?"

"Why what?" Ed intoned, lowering his voice.

"Why am I here? Why didn't you just let me die? That would get a load offa your shoulders, ne?" Envy asked, his voice becoming a tad bit stronger. _Heh… Could I be imagining it, or is that concern that I see in my O'Chibi-san's eyes? … Wait… MY! _

"Uh…" Ed flushed a bit, trying to think up a good excuse. A little voice in the back of his head chanted _Edward's in love, Edward's in love_ in a tiny sing-song voice. He quickly disposed of that voice by throwing it into a deep chasm, almost grinning as he heard it screaming shrilly on its way down. "Well… I didn't figure, if they were trying to kill you, that uh… That you were a part of their little pack anymore, right?"

Envy raised an eyebrow. "So what if I'm not? I'm still an enemy of the state, right?"

Ed shrugged. "Why not join up with us?"

Envy scoffed. "It'd be safer for me to go back to Dante." (A/N- Ah! Ah! Points of Authority just came on my CD player! Coincidence? I think not! XD Sorry, I just had to say it… Anyone out there actually know the group that sings that? I think I smell a contest… lol)

"You can't go back there."

"Why not?"

"They'll just finish you off! Are you really that eager to die?"

Envy shrugged, wincing as pain shot through him again. "I got nothing else to live for…" He looked away.

"Then make a reason to keep living. Come on, it can't be that hard."

"Easy for you to say. You've always had a reason for living."

"And you haven't?"

"Tch. Please. Why do you think I was named Envy? Because I envy everyone else, everything they have that I don't. Like family."

"But I thought Dante was your mother…?"

"Ha!" Envy's eyes narrowed and hardened. "That bitch was never worthy of being called anyone's mother." Ed had obviously touched a nerve. He let the subject drop quickly.

"Well, you're in no condition to go anywhere or move period. You're at least going to get better before you decide where you're going to go." He finished his sentence with an air of finality. Envy sighed submissively.

"I couldn't argue if I tried, could I?"

"Nope."

A sigh. "Fine. I'll stay. But… I have a favor to ask of you…"

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Ed walked in to Mustang's office. The Colonel looked up from his papers, casting Riza a sidelong glance before cautiously setting them down. Ed sniggered.

"She not needing to use the pistol today, Mustang?" he asked teasingly.

"Not yet," Riza replied, fingering the pistol that was at rest in its holster by her side, as if thinking to use it anyway.

"You here for a reason, Fullmetal?" Roy asked, resting his chin in his palm.

"Yeah… Kinda. But… Well, there's a really long story behind this request…" And with that, he began recounting the previous two day's events, leaving out a few… er… key details.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

"So, let me get this straight. You want us to give our worst enemy what we confiscated from Marcoh so he can get his power back?" Roy asked dubiously.

Ed shifted his weight from one leg to the other. "Well… Yeah."

"And what are we going to get in return for the stones?"

"He promised to lend his services to us whenever necessary."

"So he's… switching sides?"

"I guess you could say that, yeah."

"… Why?"

Ed sighed. "Because they tried to kill him. Have you not been listening to me?"

Roy massaged his temples. "… Well… I suppose… I should probably talk to the Fuhrer about this, first."

"For some reason, he specifically requested that the Fuhrer be left out of this."

That pulled a questioning glance from Roy. Ed replied with a shrug.

"I could lose my job over this, you know."

"Not if no one knows." Ed smiled wickedly. "I won't tell if you won't."

"I stopped playing those childish games a while ago. However, the prospect of having an indestructible force on our side… Alright. I'll do it." He still looked reluctant as he scribbled something down on a sheet of paper. Ed grinned triumphantly.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Ed walked into the room, seeing Al and Envy obviously deep in conversation. The discussion ended abruptly when he walked into the room, and he became curious, from Al's look of conquest and Envy's disgruntled look. The remnants of a blush on the homunculus's face only made him that much more curious. He lay a briefcase down on the bed Envy occupied. Envy's eyes shone with anticipation.

"You mean he actually gave it up?" Envy asked eagerly.

"Yep. What are you going to do with them, exactly?" Ed asked, curiosity overwhelming him.

"… Eat them, of course." He opened the briefcase. "Or drink them, in this case… I guess… I hope it works…"

Ed looked at him like he was crazy. "You're going to consume that? Won't it kill you?"

Envy laughed. "Nope. It's how we're sealed… Oh, fuck, I have to go through the sealing again..." He grimaced.

"What, is it painful?"

"Excruciatingly."

"Oh. Sucks for you."

Envy cast him a slight glare. "Thanks for the support. I feel much better about this now."

"How do you know when you've consumed enough?"

"Uh… I'll suddenly be in severe pain."

"So you'll have no idea until it's too late."

"Yep."

"No time to brace yourself."

"… Yep."

"No time to—"

"Shut up!"

Al, snickering slightly, grasped his brother's shoulder. "We should go until he finishes. The last thing he needs it to be agitated when doing this." Ed gave his younger brother a sidelong glance, then shrugged and walked out of the room, Al following.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

After about half an hour of wandering the streets of East City aimlessly, Ed began to get impatient.

"When the hell is he going to be finished?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest in agitation. Suddenly, from seemingly nowhere, a briefcase was dropped onto the chibi's head. Amid heavy curses and death threats, Envy dropped in front of Ed, fully healed and smiling.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did that land on you? I didn't see you standing there," the Sin said, grinning like a maniac and obviously trying hard to hold back laughter.

"I hate you."

That set the laughter loose. Ed simply glared until he was finished laughing, then punched him on the shoulder. Envy muttered an "ow" and rubbed the abused body part.

"I see you have new clothes," Al said.

"Yeah, how'd you manage that?" Ed asked, still glaring.

"Oh. They come with the body. Rather convenient, if you ask me," Envy said, smiling.

"I didn't," Ed replied. Envy shrugged. Alphonse noticed a kittie out of the corner of his eye. He tried sneaking off, but, due to his bulk, Ed noticed. "Where are you going, Al?" Al stopped in his tracks.

"Uh… To get groceries. You two have to eat, or if Envy doesn't, at least you do. And we both know how much you hate the cafeteria food at Headquarters," Al said quickly.

"Oh. Okay. Don't be long. And no cats. Understand?" Ed crossed his arms, giving a pointed glare.

"Oh, sure, sure, brother. Of course not." With that "promise," Al went off in search of the kittie. Ed turned back to Envy.

"Uh… Well… I guess that it's just the two of us now…" Ed said, suddenly uncomfortable for no reason. Envy linked his hands behind his back and grinned, also feeling the change in atmosphere.

"Yeah… Looks like it… Uh… We should go back to the hotel and clean up, ne?"

"Hm? Clean what?" Ed cocked his head to the side, looking at Envy questioningly. Envy sweatdropped.

"Have you not seen the condition of your room? And the sheets that I was on, they're all bloody and stuff. Isn't that your bed?" Envy shook his head and grabbed Ed by the arm, dragging him back to the hotel.

"But… But… I hate cleaning!"

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Meh. Five pages… Though most of it's dialogue… I kinda cheated… ;;

I really want to know, though… Who knows who Points of Authority is sung by? And who listens to them? They happen to be one of my favorite bands… Maybe I'll put the first person with the right answer in the next chapter… Not that you guys would care, right::sighs:

The next chapter will be mainly fluff, I'm figuring. Since they're alone… In a confined room… Alone… :positively giddy from all the possibilities: Eight chapters… I think that's delaying the romance for long enough, don't you guys?

Well, don't forget to drop me a line!

Hey, if you decide to take a whack at who sings the song (not that it's hard at all, I think I actually put it in the first chapter… I'll go delete that real quick…) tell me what you want for a prize. If it isn't too terribly much (it probably won't be) I'll see what I can do, huh? Remember, comment, criticize, compliment, or complain! I'd love to hear what you think!

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


	9. Chapter 9

**Points of Authority**

And so begins the fluff! Or the best I can get at it… Sorry for making you wait so long for it, and thanks to all you wonderful people that have actually stuck around to see if it would ever appear. ;;

Hum… I whole buncha people got that Points of Authority is sung by Linkin Park… Which makes me so happy, I have people who listen to rock reading my story! Yeah! O.o I'm gothic… So… That's basically the only kind of music I listen to…

I figured I'll give all of you a part in the story… Cuz, even though anime-phantom got it first, I can give you all a part… Somehow… Hmm… How am I going to manage this… I'll find a way!

Anyways, you aren't reading this to hear me talk, you're here to see a make-out session! XD I'll see what I can do about that… :has never written anything vaguely romantic/steamy/having to do with any intimate… actions… ever: You'll have to tell me how I do! O.O

Disclaimer: Do you see Envy and Ed returning to a hotel room… alone? Willingly? Any chance of them making out? No? Okay. Then, do I need to state that I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist? Okay then.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy walked into the room first, dragging a still struggling, albeit with much less force, Edward by the hood of his jacket. Ed has sufficed with crossing his arms and putting a pouty, sullen, I-really-don't-want-to-be-doing-this face on.

Envy groaned when he saw the state the room was actually in. He almost said 'fuck it' and asked Edward what they could do instead. But, it needed to be done, so… It might as well get done. He released a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding, and walked over to the pile of his now-useless clothing.

"Wow. I bled this much?" he mumbled, grimacing as he picked up the black… well, scraps, as they were too torn up to be considered clothing anymore. "And I lived?"

Ed rested his chin on Envy's shoulder. "Yup. I'm just as shocked as you are. I was sure you were done for." Envy grimaced, unconsciously leaning back into Ed. The two of them remained in this position peacefully for a few minutes. Only a few. Then, Ed realized that, somehow, his arms had wrapped themselves around Envy. You know, because he would never do that. Envy also, at that very moment, actually, realized that he had cuddled further back into Ed's warmth. Both were separated and across the room in half of a half of a heartbeat. (A/N- That would be… like… a fourth, right? O.o I suck at math… u.u) A bright blush spread across both boys' faces, and they immediately set about doing some random chore, not speaking so much as three words to each other.

It was about half an hour later when Ed finally broke the silence.

"So… uh… How much until we're done?"

Envy sighed heavily. "A lot."

"Shit."

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Three hours later, Ed collapsed on his bed, exhausted. _Sleeeeeep…_ An airborne pillow caught him squarely on the head, and he looked up, glaring at the palm tree-haired boy who smiled down at him.

"What."

"Tired, Hagane no?" His smile turned slightly sinister. Only slightly. But not slightly enough that Ed didn't notice.

"……………………………………… Yeah?" he asked cautiously.

"Aw. That sucks… No real fight…" The grin turned even more sinister, and he raised another pillow over his head.

Ed, out of habit, rolled off the bed and snagged the pillow that had rebounded off of his head. "………Who said anything about a fight?" he asked, tone still cautious.

"You remember that pillow fight that we had a few nights ago?"

"Yeah."

"And how you beat me?"

"… Yeah…"

"Well… I'm afraid that I cannot allow that to be." The Sin nodded, as though that made the most sense in the world.

Ed looked at him quizzically. "Uh… you're challenging me to a rematch?"

Envy shrugged. "Something like that." And, with that, he threw the pillow. Ed just barely managed to dodge it, leaving Envy to dive across the bed to retrieve it. As Envy stood, Ed thwacked him across the head with his pillow, making the androgynous boy's eye tick with annoyance.

"You're losing your finesse, Envy," Ed commented teasingly. The tone of his voice and the content of his comment did nothing to alleviate the twitching. Envy took a deep breath, released it slowly, and lunged at Ed, catching him off guard. He immediately fell upon him with a barrage of attacks, rendering the shorter man helpless. Ed, who was backing up, trying to find a solid surface to help support him against the flurry, suddenly found himself sprawled helplessly on his back. Envy, who hadn't noticed how close the bed was, the height, or the fact that Ed had fallen, soon landed directly on top of the chibi alchemist.

Everything went silent. Dead silent. There was no movement. Even the two had stopped breathing, opting just to stare into the other's eyes. Both faces were etched with shock, and there was a light flush to them both.

Envy was the first to release his breath, but he did so slowly. His eyes were glued to Ed's, his face flushed from embarrassment. _Get up!_ half of his mind screamed. The other half, however, protested loudly. _Look at him… He's just as confused as you are. Do you _really_ think that there's a chance he isn't thinking the same exact thing you are? Kiss him. Take advantage of the situation. There's no one to stop you. No one but that idiot over there screaming for you to get off of him…_ this last part his mind grumbled, finally snapping and stabbing the other voice to death. After Envy had recovered from the initial shock of seeing (okay, hearing, as the voice died with a high-pitched squeak) this violence, he decided that it would probably be in his best interests to listen to his voice, lest the same fate came about for him.

Ed, meanwhile, was having similar problems. _Come on,_ his sane (yes, sane) voice urged, _kiss him. You have the perfect opportunity. There's no one here… No Al to have to explain to… No Colonel to make fun of you… Just you… And him. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT, DAMMIT! OR ELSE!_ Meanwhile, that other little voice (you remember the one that he threw into a bottomless pit? Yeah? Well, seems like it managed to scale the side and was now making himself known again.) urged him otherwise. _You can't do that. I mean, come on, he's your worst enemy. You never know if the fight between him and Lust was staged. This could all be part of his plot. You could be falling for- _before he could state just what Ed could have been falling for, however, voice number one took a hint from Envy's voice number two and stabbed Ed's voice number two to death. He then threw him into the bottomless pit from whence he crawled. Ed had about the same reaction as Envy, deciding to follow the first voice's instructions rather than end up like poor, dead voice number two.

Both began inching toward each other timidly. Envy, however, never being one for subtlety, upon seeing that Ed had the same idea that he did, slid a hand snakelike behind Ed's head, pulling him up and closing the gap between them. Ed's eyes widened at this sudden action, but he soon relished in it, and leaned back onto the bed, sliding his hands around Envy's waist. Ed felt Envy relax, and then realized how tense he was. _I wonder…_ he tried with all his might to hold back a smirk as he tightened his grip on Envy, twisting his body and somehow managing to pin the Sin underneath him. All this without ever breaking their contact. (A/N- Now that's skill.) Envy's eyes opened, and he glared at Ed teasingly.

"Oi, I was liking the view from the top…" he complained.

"Shut up. You had your eyes closed." Ed raised his eyebrow, awaiting a retort. When none came, he murmured, "Thought so," and began making his way along Envy's jaw line to his neck. A gasp tore itself from Envy's throat, and he released an involuntary (or was it?) shudder. The homunculus entwined the fingers of one hand in Ed's hair, the other travelling down to pull the tie out, then to trail along his back, reversing its path and sliding back up to his neck in a gentle, caressing motion.

Ed lavished attention on Envy's neck, then moved to the lobe of his ear and bit at it, eliciting another gasp from him, closely followed by a moan. Envy pulled him back up to claim his lips, his tongue demanding entrance to Ed's mouth, which he willingly bestowed. He explored every aspect of his aperture hungrily before lightly, almost shyly, brushing his with Ed's. The two quickly warmed up to the presence of the other, though, and soon their tongues were fighting for dominance, wrestling each other tantalizingly from one mouth to the other. Eventually, due to lack of air, Ed was forced to pull away. Both men lay on the bed, panting and flushed, looking at each other as if to ask 'What now?'

At that very moment, the phone rang. Ed slid slowly from Envy, loathe to relinquish his position on top of him, but knowing that only the Colonel had the number to his room. He picked up the phone, scowling.

"What do you want."

"Hello to you, too, Fullmetal."

"Yeah, yeah, hello. Now, what do you want."

"Just checking in."

Ed almost screamed in frustration. _He interrupted us for that!_ He swore colorfully, in his mind, of course, and then said, attempting to keep his anger in check, "Well, what is there to check in on?"

"Envy, of course. How is he?"

"Uh… Why do you care?" Ed asked, features taking on a confused look.

"Well, he's the newest member of the military, is he not?" the Colonel asked. He could almost see the smug look of 'You're such an idiot' plastered all over Mustang's face. Ed wanted to hit him. Badly. Very badly.

"He's great. Wonderful. Is that all?" Ed asked, leaning against the bedside table impatiently, drumming his fingers on the hard surface, glancing over to Envy, who still lay in the same position on the bed, staring at the ceiling obviously without seeing it.

The Colonel laughed. "Yes. What, did I interrupt you in the middle of something?"

Ed blushed, thankful that Roy couldn't see him. "Kind of. If that's all, I'll talk to you later. Bye." He hung up without giving his commanding officer a chance to ask him what he had been doing. Just as he was about to go reclaim his previous location, Al walked in the door. Ed had to physically hold his metal arm down to stop himself from hitting his forehead with it in frustration. Envy noticed this and sniggered.

"Wow, Brother, it looks a lot nicer than it did a few hours ago," Al commented, looking around in appreciation.

"Tch. He just sat around and complained," Envy said, still grinning.

"I did not! I… made the beds…" Ed mumbled, realizing that he, indeed, had spent most of the time procrastinating. Alphonse just shook his head, mumbling something unintelligible, but Ed distinctly caught the words "lazy" and "short tempered." Envy, who obviously heard the latter comment, anxiously awaited the famous temper tantrum that usually accompanied the word "short" and any synonyms thereof. Ed twitched, then all hell broke loose. "WHO'REYOUCALLINGSOSMALLEATINGSHRIMPWOULDBECANNABALISM!" he shouted, jumping at Al and latching on to his back. "Just because you're so much taller than me gives you the right to pick on me, huh! Is that how it is!" he continued to fume, gnawing (yes, gnawing) on his brother's shoulder. Envy was too preoccupied with rolling around on the bed in laughter to aid Al, and Al was too busy laughing to get Ed off by his own means. In the end, Ed calmed down and helped Al put away the groceries that he had bought.

The rest of the night, other than the occasional furtive glance between Ed and Envy, passed in relative peace.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Wow. That was so much longer than I thought it would be… I think this chapter got in over 2000 words… Yep. 2084! Woo! New record! Booyah! … Okay, you guys have to tell me how I did with the whole make-out scene thing. O.o … You know… since it was my first and all… Oh! And wow! Fifty-six reviews! Man, that's awesome! I'd love to get to one hundred, but I know that's way too far-fetched… But… You know… If you'd like to help me get there… :Bambi eyes: I LOVE YOU ALL! Don't forget, comments, criticisms, complaints, and compliments are all accepted! I've yet to get a flame, so… If you'd like to be lucky number one, feel free to tell me how much I suck. D

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


	10. Chapter 10

**Points of Authority**

Augh! I HATE MY COMPUTER! It sucks. Big time.

I was forced to restart the computer due to this stupid AOL message thingy that kept popping up and wouldn't let me surf the web. So, I restart my computer, go to sign on, and it's reset my freaking connection::sigh: So, even though I started typing this on Thursday in an attempt to get my chapter out without delay, I'm afraid it'll have to wait until Friday, or today, since you'll be reading it on Friday… some of you… o.o

To be totally honest, I am again lost as to where I am to go with this… Ah, well. ;;;

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Edward's first mistake before going to bed was taking a shower. His second mistake was not telling Al to ensure that Envy didn't take his bed. Hence, when he walked out of the bathroom in his pajamas (also known as boxers), a billow of steam accompanying his departure, he found the aforementioned Sin laying on his bed, quite comfortable.

"Get up," Ed demanded, upon seeing the green-haired boy occupying his bed.

"Tch. No chance," Envy said, pulling the covers tightly around himself and curling into a ball, closing his eyes as if to go to sleep. Ed's eyebrow ticked.

"Alphonse, if you don't want to see a certain someone's imposing death, I'd suggest you go release that cat you've been hiding in your armor all night," Ed commented, successfully killing two birds with one stone; the release of that damned cat and the expulsion, if only momentary, of his brother.

"But Brother—" Alphonse began in a pleading tone.

"Al…" Ed cut him off warningly. "You know that they don't allow cats here, and there's no way we'd be able to take care of it, what with our constant travelling and all."

Al gave a defeated sigh and went to treat the cat to one last bowl of warm milk before he was forced to abandon the poor creature. As the door shut behind him, Ed rounded on Envy.

"Up."

"I can't hear you, I'm asleep," Envy muttered.

"Sleep talking, then?" Ed asked, a grin tugging at his lips.

"Yup."

Seeing that trying to verbally remove him was doing no good, Ed decided to try to forcibly dislodge him. Nothing doing. For some reason, even when pushing with all his might, Envy remained glued to the spot.

"It isn't going to work, Hagane no. You couldn't move me unless I wanted you to," Envy said, eyes still closed.

Ed only redoubled his efforts. Envy smiled, then turned suddenly. Ed found himself pushing at thin air a moment before he landed sprawled out on the bed. He threw a venomous glare at the Sin, who was now smiling, trying to contain his mirth.

"Let's share, O'Chibi-san," he requested innocently, making Ed blush furiously. Envy's serene grin widened and took on a more mischievous air. He pulled the smaller man fully onto the bed, then rolled on top of him, placing his head in the juncture of neck and shoulder and wrapping his arms around a now totally astonished Ed. In less than a moment, Envy's breathing relaxed and he was seemingly asleep. Ed weighed the options. He decided that staying in his current location was much better than sleeping on the floor. _Oh, you know you like it… A lot,_ whispered that little voice. And, as he wrapped his arms around Envy and gave him a small kiss on the forehead, feeling the Sin smile against him, he had to agree.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Ed was awoken by his brother poking him the next morning. Other than the poking, the first thing he noticed was a weight on top of him. The moment that it clicked in his mind that the weight was Envy, it clicked that Al must be wondering why they were sleeping together. That thought woke him up immediately. He looked, rather frightened, up at Al.

"Uh… Uh… It isn't what it looks like?" he said uncertainly, realizing at that moment that his arms were still wrapped securely around the Sin on top of him. He quickly put them by his sides. Envy squirmed slightly in protest.

If Al could've smiled, he would have. As it were, Ed could tell that there was a knowing smirk hidden in there somewhere. "Don't worry, Nii-san, I've known for a while. At least, about how Envy felt." Ed was silent.

"That's what you two were talking about the other night, wasn't it."

Al laughed. "I honestly expected you to realize that sooner."

"Hmph. You expect too much of me, then," Ed grumbled. "I'm going back to sleep."

"Afraid you can't. We've been summoned to HQ by the Colonel," Al said apologetically.

Ed groaned. "Damn bastard… Calling me in to work this early in the morning…" As he continued to grumble a few more choice curses on the Colonel, he tried to figure out a way to maneuver his way out from under Envy and, more pressingly, out of his loose yet totally immovable grip. Somehow he managed to do this, and got dressed. He headed for the door, then turned and gave Al a questioning look when he realized his younger brother was not following him. "Are we going or not?"

"Uh… We're supposed to bring Envy with us…" Al said uncertainly.

Ed smacked his forehead, then walked back over to the bed, attempting to wake the sleeping Sin up. Now, what happened next was totally not Envy's fault. It was Ed's. His ignorance of the Sin's mood when he was forced to wake up and was unable to wake up on his own almost caused him serious injury. In short, Envy was not a morning person. When Ed first began trying to wake the sleeping Envy, all he got was an unintelligible grumble followed by a growl. Ed, being the blockhead he is, failed to take notice of this and protect himself, and instead tried again. This time his hands were smacked away. Determined, he tried again, and got a solid kick to the… Well, it wasn't his stomach, I'll tell you that. Ed let out a yelp and sank to his knees. At the sound of the yelp Envy sat up, looking over the side of the bed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, yawning. Ed glared at him. "Oh, did I hit you?"

"No. You kicked me," he muttered, throwing a glare at Al, who sat laughing helplessly in a corner.

"Oh. Well, you've been throu—" He tapered off, realizing just where the alchemist was clutching and his position on the floor. He blinked, then tried desperately to hold back the large grin that was threatening to spread across his features. As soon as Al noticed the look in Ed's eyes, he realized that he needed to run— now— if he was going to make it out of the room in time to escape the soon-to-be flying objects. He snuck to the door, opening and closing it silently, and took off down the hall to await the two downstairs.

With amazing and unexpected speed, Ed tackled Envy off the bed, pinning him down and glaring at him threateningly.

"You think that's funny? Do you know how much that hurts? No, of course not, because you've never let anyone get close enough to hit you… Would you—" Ed's rant was cut short as Envy leaned up suddenly and captured his lips. He freed his hands and pulled Ed back down with him as he sunk to the floor. He kept the kiss reasonably short, then pulled away.

"You complain too much, you know that?" he whispered teasingly. Ed just shook his head, a soft smile upon his face. "Now, I'm supposed to meet Colonel Snap-Happy today? Do I have to be civil?" Envy asked, giving Ed a please-let-me-wreak-havoc look.

"Yes and yes," Ed replied, receiving a disappointed look from Envy. "But not unreasonably so. Just act normal— that'll be torture enough for him."

"What's that supposed to mean! You saying I'm annoying! I swear—" He was abruptly cut off as Edward repeated his earlier gesture, cutting him off with a kiss. This one, however, was much longer. Ed pulled away after a good minute, leaving Envy panting, and moved to his neck. He planted a kiss there, then mumbled, "You complain too much," against the pale skin, lips lightly brushing the soft skin with every movement. Envy shivered and smiled, wrapping his arms possessively around Ed.

After a few minutes of blissful silence, Ed stirred, then gently removed himself from Envy's embrace and stood. "C'mon. If we keep Mustang waiting any longer, he'll probably start thinking we're…" Ed trailed off, a light blush dusting his features.

"Involved?" Envy suggested, also standing.

"Exactly."

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Whew. Well, there's the tenth chapter… Next chapter we'll get to some Dante beating. Probably lotsa fighting in the next few chapters, though this story really is almost finished.

That kind of depresses me, to be totally honest… u.u I don't think my dream of 100 reviews is going to be met… :tear: Oh well. Maybe in my next fic…

I got a Fullmetal Alchemist hoodie! Woo! For those of you who care, it's the red one that Hot Topic has been selling for a while. I was originally going to get it as a birthday gift from my mom in October, but I was afraid that they wouldn't be selling it any more by then. So, last night, after travelling to a bookstore to get some books I need for English, we stopped by the mall and she bought it for me! I luff my Mama… o.o

:clears throat: Anyway… Another quick little poll thingy. Who do you think should kill Dante: Ed, Envy, or both (if I can manage that…)? And do you think Lust should take the fall with her? Tell me your thoughts!

As I say every time, complaints, compliments, comments, and criticism is always welcomed! Still yet to get a flame, will you be lucky number one? Who knows…

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


	11. Chapter 11

**Points of Authority**

Hmm… Many of you have a really good point. At this point, this fic could be either EnvyxEd or EdxEnvy. So, I guess whichever you prefer is what you should take it as. Though I, personally, like EdxEnvy… So… Yeah…

Uh… nothing else really to say… Oh, the popular vote is to have Envy kill Dante, and, so far, it looks like Lust is goin' down, too. I'd still love to hear what you have to say, so keep giving me suggestions!

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

The moment they stepped inside, Ed knew that it was going to be difficult getting through Headquarters without someone trying to shoot Envy. Or without Envy trying to strangle someone.

Military personnel swarmed around him, trying to get Ed and Al out of the way so they could have a clear shot at him. The State Alchemists immediately drew out pieces of chalk or put on their personalized gloves, preparing to attack. And through all the confusion, Envy was grinning.

One of the more reckless men lunged at him, attempting to take him down, but Envy simply kicked him into a wall, then turned and caught a man who had attempted to take advantage of the moment by the throat. Ed recognized the glint in his eyes, and quickly took off his boot and threw it at his head. It connected with a dull thud. Envy blinked, then dropped the guy, clasping his hands behind his back and giving Ed an 'it wasn't me' look.

Ed massaged his temples, then pushed a path through the momentarily stunned military men. Envy followed, head lowered like a puppy that's been scolded, and Al followed.

"You can't do that anymore, Envy! These guys are on your side now," Ed lectured.

"I forgot…" Envy muttered.

"Well, make it a point not to forget anymore," Ed grumbled, stopping and turning to glare at the taller man.

"I'll try. I'm not promising anything, though," Envy said stubbornly, crossing his arms. Ed massaged his temples. Suddenly, a brown-haired girl came running down the hall, then crashed headfirst (quite literally) into Ed.

"Ah! Sorry! I heard that there was a commotion at the front and I was just going to—" she began, but was cut off by Ed.

"You're a bit late on that one…" he commented, getting up and dusting himself off.

"… I am?" she asked.

"Yup. The perpetrator's right here," Envy said, pointing to himself. She gasped and jumped back, pointing.

"You're him! The… Uh… Oh, crap, what's your name…" she placed her head in her hand and her other hand on her hip, looking down. Envy's eye ticked in irritation.

"Thanks," he grumbled, glaring at her.

"You're the pineapple dude… Oh, come on… Uh… Uh…"

Envy's eyes widened, then took up a murderous glint. "Pineapple?" he asked dangerously. Ed and Al, meanwhile, were too busy trying to hold back hysterical laughter to warn the girl to run.

"ENVY! Yeah, that's it! You're a wanted criminal! … Hey… wait… Are you turning yourself in?" she asked, totally oblivious to the murderous glare that she was receiving from the "pineapple." Ed, who was briefly able to control his laughter, shook his head.

"No, he's switching sides," he managed to get out. A small chuckle escaped, unfortunately not going unnoticed by Envy.

"Think it's funny, O'Chibi-san?" he growled, advancing on the State Alchemist threateningly. There was utter silence, and then Ed broke out into hysterical laughter.

"Nope, sure looks like he doesn't, eh?" the girl said. Ed finally managed to control himself, then turned to give the girl an inquisitive look.

"I've never seen you around here before. Who are you?" he asked.

"Oh, my name's Laura. I'm a… uh… Well, I guess you could call it a new recruit, since I've only been here… for… Well, not long. You're Ed, right? The famous Fullmetal Alchemist?"

Envy shook his head, sighing. Ed, however, grinned. "Yeah, I am. How could you tell?"

She smiled. "I've always heard about how small you are."

Utter silence.

Suddenly, Envy began laughing hysterically, doubling over and clutching his stomach. Ed, on the other hand, had gone silent, eyes on the floor. (A/N- You know that thing in the anime? Where his eyes get all black and he gets tense? Yeah.) Al just sighed, waiting for his brother's outburst. Ed's head snapped up and he glared at Laura, who in turn just smiled, albeit somewhat sadistically.

"Well, anywho, I'm going to go see if there's any clean up or anything that needs doing. Later, Envy, Al… Pipsqueak," she smiled and ran off.

"WHO'REYOUCALLINGSOSMALLHEMAKESANANTFEELTALL!" Ed screeched, turning to lunge after her. Al managed to snag him around the waist, however, and Envy, still laughing, managed to snag his braid. Through a joint effort, they managed to drag him, still fuming, to Roy's office.

Envy politely knocked, then, without waiting for an answer, kicked the door open. He and Al threw Ed onto the couch, where he remained, arms crossed, glaring at the two of them for denying him his revenge. Roy looked pissed at Envy.

"You should've waited for a response," he said, as if Envy was listening.

"Yeah, shoulda, woulda, but I didn't, now did I?" Envy said in a casual tone, seating himself in one of the two chairs that sat in front of Roy's desk and crossing his legs. Roy glared at him. "Oh, what, it's not like I interrupted you in the middle of fucking First Lieutenant what's her face," he said, waving a dismissive hand. Both Roy and Riza paled. Envy noticed this and looked between the two of them. "Did I?"

"NO!" they both shouted. Envy sniggered.

"Then I don't see what the problem is, Mr. Snap-Happy. Now, why the hell did you call us up here? I was perfectly fine sleeping, but nooo…" Envy trailed off, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling, then looking levelly at Roy, who, in turn, glared flaming daggers at him.

"You three are going to take care of the other Homunculi once and for all," Roy stated, still glaring at Envy. The Sin's eyes widened, and he paled visibly.

"You're insane…" he muttered.

"Maybe, or are you too scared to do it?" Roy asked, a daring tone to his voice. Envy's eyes flashed.

"Fine. When, where, and how? More importantly when," he said.

"Never were able to turn down a challenge, were you?" Ed muttered darkly from his spot on the couch. Envy merely stuck his tongue out at him.

"You three are going to surprise them—" Envy scoffed, Roy ignored him and continued, interlacing his fingers, "—tonight, and I don't know what you're going to use. Two of you can use alchemy, one of you is indest—well, almost indestructible, so you'll think of something."

"Wow, is he always this concerned for his soldiers' safety?" Envy asked, his voice positively dripping with sarcasm. Ed grimaced.

"No, this is being cautious," he said.

"Oh. Wow. Dude, even Dante takes better care to prepare us. And that's saying something."

"What's it say?"

"That Roy sucks as a leader," Envy stated matter-of-factly. Ed sniggered, and Al shook his head.

"Envy…"

"What? He does. You can't tell me he—"

"Can we stop talking about what a bad leader I am and get on with this, please?" Roy interjected, twitching. Envy grinned, obviously enjoying the mental strain he was causing the Colonel, not to mention the physical strain caused by having to hold his hand in place to keep him from frying the Sin to a crisp.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, we'll try," Envy said, suddenly wary.

"Good. You are dismissed," Mustang said, waving them out with a casual gesture of his hand. The three got up, heading for the door. Just as Envy was about to close the door, the Colonel stopped them. "Oh. One more thing." Envy turned and raised a questioning eyebrow. "I will not allow you to die in my jurisdiction. Post-processing papers are a pain, you understand." Ed turned, incredulous, and Al continued pushing him down the hall. Envy threw him a glare that screamed "if I make it out of this alive, you're going to burn," and slammed the door.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Okay, I lied. The next chapter will have ass kicking in it. Sorry… I didn't expect that to take so long…

Yeah, isn't Roy a bastard? I never did like him much… It isn't obvious, is it… -.- Probably just because there are way more RoyxEd than EnvyxEd fics out there… They don't work together… Ed so obviously hates him! … Yeah, because he likes Envy so much more…

Anyway, don't forget to comment, complain, compliment, or criticize! Still haven't gotten a flame, I'm honestly surprised… TWENTY FIVE left to go before I hit one hundred! You guys ROCK OUT LOUD! (I stole that from my friend. ) I LOVE YOU ALL!

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


	12. Chapter 12

**Points of Authority**

Wow. Today's September the 11th. :sighs: Depressing…

On a better note… Only fifteen reviews till I hit ONE HUNDRED::celebrates: I swear, when (yes, I'm being optimistic) I hit one hundred, I'm going to, like… scream. The most reviews I've ever gotten in the past were four. Just goes to show that yaoi's better, huh? X3

Sorry about the long time it's taken to update, I haven't been home in… a while, so I didn't have time to write. ;;;

DISCLAIMER (Because I keep forgetting it…) : I do not own anything pertaining to or having to do with Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did, Envy would be in every episode, would be wearing less than he already is, and would be "involved" with Edo-kun.

Oh! One more thing. I'm glad I'm turning you guys against Roy. Yay! Let him burn for the torment he constantly puts Ed through! BURN, BASTARD, BUUUURRRRRNNNN! o.o

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy sighed in frustration as the trio made their way down the hall. "If he actually thinks we can surprise the others, he's more insane than I previously thought. There's NO WAY we're… well, you guys, at least, are going to make it out of this alive."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for the confidence, Envy, it really makes me feel better."

"Hm? Oh, no problem." Alphonse shook his head.

"Is there ever a time when you two aren't arguing?" Al asked, hoping that they would stop. Both boys looked at each other. Their response came simultaneously.

"Nope."

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Twelve hours later, at 11:30 that night, the three were nearing Dante's manor. Envy had become increasingly secluded during that time, and his pace had slowed until he was a good few feet behind Ed and Al. Ed noticed this and slowed until Envy caught up with him, then wrapped an arm around him.

"Are you that worried?" Ed asked quietly.

"Uh… Yeah," Envy answered, leaning against Ed. "But it's nothing I won't get over once I have that bitch's throat in my hands…" he growled, clenching his hands over an imaginary throat.

Ed raised his eyebrows. "Okay, now I'm freaked out."

"Scared, Edo-kun?"

"Of you? Um, duh."

Envy smiled, stopped, and pulled Ed to him, catching the small alchemist's lips in a sweet kiss. Ed froze momentarily, stunned, then let his eyes slide closed and returned the kiss. They separated after a moment and continued walking. After a pause, Envy said, "I don't know why you're afraid of me..."

Ed gave him a skeptical look. "Hmm. Because you're a self-proclaimed psychotic murderer who doesn't give a second thought to taking someone's life?"

Envy was silent for a few moments, then turned and gave Ed a calculating look. "You know, Hagane no, that may just save your life tonight."

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy pulled the front door of the manor open, then looked around the totally silent and pitch black room. Without warning, he reached behind him and pulled Ed forward two steps. Just as Ed was about to complain about being pulled around like a rag doll, the wall next to the area he had previously been standing in was speared by two long lance-like fingernails.

"Hello, Lust," Envy murmured, turning to face a dark and seemingly empty corner.

"Good evening, Envy. What brings you back here?" Lust inquired, stepping out of the shadows and into a pool of sparse moonlight.

"Oh, you know, revenge, murder, just desserts… The usual," he replied, crossing his arms and casting a falsely friendly smile in Lust's direction.

Lust simply glared back at him. "Don't even try to act as though we're still close, Envy."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that we ever were. Or is it just my imagination that you and I have always been in an endless struggle for dominance over the others?" Envy rested an elbow on his other arm, which remained about his waist, and rested his chin in his palm.

Lust smirked. "Yes, well, looks like I won that one, hm, Envy-kun?"

Envy twitched at the name. "For now, I'll allow you to think that. But, later, as I'm standing over your slowly dying body, we'll see who the winner is, hm? And even if you do, in some odd twist of fate, manage to kill me—" Envy noticed Ed visibly twitch at the prospect "—it'll only be a matter of time until one of the others- most likely Wrath- begins resenting your authority. That's one of the many unaccounted for factors, after all, in one's quest for dominance. At one point, there's always someone who resists authority. At one point, you always fall from the height of your authority. And, at one point, you always manage to regain your authority, though whether or not the procedure you use to regain that authority is legal…" he trailed off, then shrugged. A flash of blue light surrounded his arm, and, in its stead, there was a metal blade, much like Ed's. A feral, bloodthirsty grin crossed his features, and he began advancing upon Lust.

She stepped back into the cover of the shadows. "Touching lecture, Envy," she said, "but I assure you, I will not make the same mistakes you did."

"Oh, but Lust, I made no mistake. It was you who fucked up!" he shouted, lunging towards her and slashing at her midsection.

Ed was stunned, at least momentarily. He hadn't expected for Envy to just jump into a fight like he had. _Of course,_ he thought, mentally kicking himself, _I don't know why I didn't expect it… He was created for killing, after all._

_I told you._ Voice number two seemed to be back. This surprised Ed, since, last time he checked, his 'body' had been mutilated and thrown into a void. He made a mental check for voice number one, and found that he was bound and gagged in a corner, and glaring something awful at voice number two. Voice number two simply threw him a smug smile and went back to scolding Ed. _That's what he'll do to you, too, Ed. I'm only looking out for you, you know._

_Wh- No he won't! He's already had plenty of opportunities to kill me and he hasn't._

_Yet._

There is no yet! He isn't going to do…………… I don't have time to be arguing with myself.

It was at that point that he snapped out of his reverie, clapped his hands, and transmuted his automail arm into that well-known steel blade. He jumped into the fray after Envy, slashing at any vulnerable spot on Lust's body.

Envy stepped back, then ran upstairs to find Dante. He first went down to his room to retrieve his daggers. After doing so and storing them so he would be able to get to them easily when the need arose, he ran back down the hall. Unfortunately, he ran into Gluttony as the rather stupid Sin was coming out of his room. Gluttony looked quizzically up at Envy.

"Envy…?" he asked, sticking his index finger in his mouth and looking up at him through his confused, beady eyes. His eyes suddenly took on a hardened glint, and he grinned maliciously. Envy stepped back.

_Oh, shit, he's going to eat me, isn't he? I knew the day would come…_

Sure enough, Gluttony took a step toward him, arms outstretched, like a child reaching for a lollipop. Envy took another step back. With surprising speed, Gluttony grabbed Envy by the wrist and pulled him forward. He then took a bite out of Envy's torso. Envy yelled in pain, clutching his side and blood spewed out of it in a cascade of crimson, soaking his clothing. Just as the pain was breaching the unbearable line, his regeneration abilities kicked in, and his side came together again. He turned and ran toward the staircase, pausing when he reached the top. When Gluttony caught up with him, Envy kicked him, sending him rolling down the staircase. "Incoming!" he yelled, and watched as Ed and Al stepped aside, leaving Gluttony to crash rather unceremoniously into Lust. Both lay in a heap, struggling to get up.

Envy, satisfied with his work, turned to run down the hall just in time to see Dante disappear around the corner. He knew that if she made it to her room, she was pretty much safe, at least from him. He would not allow it.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Dante, panting, turned the final corner that blocked her from the safety of her room. She flung herself onto the threshold, slamming the door and turning the lock, which she had created specifically for the purpose of keeping the homunculi out. She sighed, resting her head against the cool, polished wood of the door, and caught her breath. Just as she was about to turn, she froze. She sensed that something was amiss. The room was not as empty as it should have been. Then, she heard rather than saw the smile, that smile that promised death to all who were unlucky enough to see it. A cold shiver ran down her back, and a fear that threatened to stop her heart encased her. She turned to see her eldest creation, her son, standing in the light of the moon, his silhouette plastered black as death upon her floor.

"Hello, Mother."

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

O.o You have no idea how long I've been waiting to type this chapter, just for the ending. Don't forget how much I'm hoping to break one hundred… I'll give special mention to my one hundredth reviewer, how about that? … Yeah, anyway…

You know those people that, like, threaten to not update unless they get a certain amount of reviews? Man, I'm so glad I haven't had to do that in this story… I LOVE YOU GUYS! XD I'm sorry, it called to be said.

Well, don't forget, all comments, criticisms, complaints, and compliments are accepted with open arms… Still haven't received a flame… I was really hoping to kill Roy with it… Oh well… Maybe this'll be the lucky chapter, huh?

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


	13. Chapter 13

**Points of Authority**

lElNlVlYlXlElDlYlAlOlIl

My anti-drug.

XD Sorry, I just saw one of those commercials, and it called to be said.

O.O ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS:celebrates: Ohmygod! You guys rock so much! And a big thanks to rozen maiden to being number one hundred:dances: I'll make this chapter extra long, just for you guys. Well, that, and I haven't updated in forever… so… I kinda owe it to you…

Okay, now that my freak out is outta the way…

There's this really creepy gay guy at school that's stalking me… I think I'm going to hurt him soon… Not like, the bearable gay… I have some gay friends, this guy's like… :shudder: He'd rape a guy, I swear. He's creepy like that…

Wow, I really hope I didn't just offend anyone… o.O :bows: Gomen nasai, if I did…

Anywayz… Well, this'll probably be one of the last chapters… I may drag out the fight over two, if I can get that creative…

…

Yeah, don't get your hopes up. lol…

I do not own!

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Envy grinned as he took in the sudden rigidity of his mother's stance when she heard his voice. She paled, visible even in the wan moonlight. His grin turned sinister.

"Mother," he cooed, and she couldn't decide which was more frightening, his kind façade or his smile, "why do you look so frightened?"

She forced her voice not to tremble. "Do I?" she inquired, cursing herself when she heard the underlying fear in her question.

A flash of blue light enveloped his arm as it changed, suddenly cold and sharp, glinting in the moonlight. "Yes, Mother dear, you do. And, I hate to point out, you're not doing a very good job of hiding it." Silence followed his statement. He quirked an eyebrow, his smile sliding into a cool, easy smirk. "Well, since you have no comment to that…" He noticed suddenly that her hands had been behind her back the whole time. He growled, cutting his statement short and lunging at her, pulling his arm back and preparing to decapitate her in one easy swipe.

Dante pushed her hand against the wall, then ducked as a gigantic spike, sharper than a razor, propelled itself from the wall and straight through Envy's throat. In the brief moment before he died, he saw Dante wrench the door open and dash into the hall. Then, everything went black.

Not for long, however. A blue alchemical light enveloped him, and he pulled himself from the spike and stormed through the door, his eyes glinting with murderous intent.

He stalked her through the manor, listening to her ragged gasps for air and her frantically beating heart, both as loud as if they were his own. He smiled, a predator hunting his prey. His eyes lit up in amusement as he heard her feet pounding frantically against the floor. "Mother…" he whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. "Mother, you know you can't escape from me…" A chuckle, as he heard her gasp at the realization of how close he was to her. She stumbled blindly through the darkened halls, while he saw all as if it were the brightest daylight. He turned a corner, smiling as he saw her heading straight for a dead end she couldn't see. "You created me to be the perfect hunter, did you not? 'Never let any of your prey escape,' that's what you taught me from the beginning… Never knew it would come back to bite you in the ass, didja?"

A panicked cry tore itself from her throat as she came into contact with the wall, music to his ears. She scrabbled frantically against the surrounding walls, finding naught but unforgiving wood, solid and stoic. Impregnable.

A slow, hissing laugh came from his direction, and she looked around in the pitch blackness to try to discern exactly where he was. Her eyes alighted upon him for a brief moment, but she was unaware of it.

In a few quick steps, he has crossed the distance that still separated him from his creator and he leaned forward, almost nose to nose with her. She still didn't see him. So, he did what anyone in that position would've done.

"Boo."

Her reaction was priceless, in his honest opinion. He couldn't have asked for a better scream, a more priceless look of shock and horror. Again, the sadistic grin crossed his features.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mommy dearest, did I frighten you? Again?" he asked teasingly, voice taking on a childish air. "You know, you wouldn't be in this predicament if you had just left my business to me. Had you just let me do as I pleased, like I've been doing all these hundreds of years… But, of course, you already knew that, didn't you? Yes, of course you did. Because you're such an intelligent woman…" His smile turned sour, pure anger and hatred contorted his pretty features into that of which nightmares are made.

"E-Envy… My son…" Dante muttered, in a final attempt to save herself.

"I am not your son. How many times do I have to reiterate that?" he snarled, and, for a brief moment, the hallway was illuminated with blue light. For a brief moment, Dante could see the features of her eldest creation, contorted with rage and malice. For a brief moment, she saw the murderous glint in his eye. Then she was plunged back into unforgiving darkness. As Envy raised his arm to plunge it through her chest, he smiled. His arm sliced through the air, ever closer to his mother's heart.

A cry of pain echoed throughout the manor.

Envy stopped, his blade quivering mere micrometers above Dante's breast, inches from her heart. His eyes widened as recognition of that cry suddenly hit him.

"Edward!"

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Lust grinned at the feel of Ed's warm blood running down her arm. Two of her nails pinned him to the wall by his shoulders, while the other three were lodged in his stomach. Gluttony, meanwhile, was chasing a very frightened Alphonse, who was already missing a chunk out of his arm. Ed cursed, then looked up at Lust, his golden eyes hazy with pain, half-lidded with fatigue.

"Oh, you poor, poor boy," Lust cooed, "that must smart."

Ed growled. He was suddenly attacked by a frenzy of coughs that echoed loudly throughout the room. They were heavy and wet, and a small river of blood issued from his mouth, dribbling down his chin and dripping onto the floor. Blood flowed from his wounds freely, their flow only barricaded by the presence of Lust's nails.

"You're a bitch…" he whispered fiercely, wincing as she turned her wrist slightly, causing the nails to rotate slightly and make his lacerations wider.

"You're in no position to smart mouth me, you little bastard," she said angrily. His only retort was a sudden intake of air through clenched teeth. He was determined not to make any sound of pain, he knew that she wanted that, and he'd be damned if he gave her what she wanted.

"Go to hell," he said lowly, wincing at the rawness in his throat. His blood had left an unpleasant taste in his mouth, making him want to retch even more than the sickeningly smug smile on Lust's face.

Abruptly, a dagger flew through the air, catching Lust across the throat and lodging itself in her spinal cord. She gasped, immediately retracting her nails, and collapsed on the floor. Ed fell to the floor, and, wincing in pain, immediately tried to stand again. Envy was at his side in half a heartbeat. He grabbed Ed's automail arm, which, through some miracle, was still in perfect working condition, and helped him to his feet.

"Edo…" he murmured, looking upon Ed's sorry state with unveiled concern written clearly upon his features.

Ed turned to him and offered him an offhand smile. "It's really not as bad as it looks," he said, his voice still a bit raspy and raw. Envy just shook his head and embraced the smaller boy. Lust chuckled from her spot on the floor.

"So, Envy and the 'prodigy' are lovers, are they?" she said sarcastically, rising and dusting herself off. "And you survived?"

"No, you're seeing an apparition, dumbass," Envy said testily. Lust glared at him. There was a sudden, tense stillness. Even Gluttony ceased his pursuit of Al. Lust and Envy glared at each other for a long while. Then, suddenly, he noticed her hand move, and an instant before the razor-like nails pierced his flesh, he pushed Ed out of the way, directly into Al, who immediately wrapped his arms around him in an effort to hold him back from doing anything rash.

Black nails sunk far into Envy's body. He winced, gritting his teeth against the sudden torrent of pain. Looking past the pain, he wrapped his hands around Lust's nails and pulled them deeper into him, effectively pulling her closer. She looked upon him in confusion. He smiled and clutched her wrist, then, in the blink of an eye, had his arm transformed and swung it upwards. Lust's arm was severed at the elbow. She staggered back, eyes wide in shock. Her face contorted with pain. While she was healing, Envy pulled her arm out of his stomach, throwing it aside and lunging at her, blade raised, aiming for the Ouroboros tattooed on her chest.

She jumped aside, though not quick enough to avoid a sidelong blow from Envy's transmuted arm. Her shoulder gushed blood for a moment, but was quickly patched up. The elder Sin began swinging at her more furiously, creating deep gashes on her body, piling up, blow after blow, until his movements became so fast that her body had no time to heal itself before there was yet another abrasion to be healed.

His attacks were calculated perfectly. He had studied her fighting stances and strategies since the day she was created, and could predict and block or dodge any one of her attacks before she even made it, simply by watching the way she moved into position.

"You're at quite a disadvantage, Lust," Envy purred, slashing out at Lust's stomach and chest and head and legs and arms and any other exposed and potentially vulnerable surface on her body. She could only grunt in reply, and even that careless disruption in her train of thought led to a particularly nasty gash. She could feel her body wearing down, giving up, dying slowly as the incomplete philosopher's stones inside her body were consumed. Her movements slowed and became sloppy.

Envy grinned. Just then, something sharp and undoubtedly painful flew at him from the balcony. He dodged easily and glared up in time to see a figure, Dante, no doubt, retreating around a corner. He turned to Ed.

"Hagane no, you can take care of this slut from here, ne?" Envy asked, pointing to Lust. Ed grimaced in pain, but nodded. Envy walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss, then smiled. "Don't worry, she's already half dead as it is. Just a few more hits oughta do it." Envy then turned and followed Dante's path through the labyrinth of hallways. She had escaped the first time, yes, but not again. Not while he still lived and breathed… Well, if you could call it living.

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Ohmygod, I'm so sleepy. Sorry, I was going to kill Dante off, but I don't have the energy nor creative juices to accomplish that at this time of night.

Oh, I was just wondering, did anyone actually notice that I managed to incorporate the title of the fic into the story last chapter? … Well, I did… o.O

Ah! Review! You must! Remember, comments, compliments, complaints, and criticism is accepted with open arms. Still yet to receive my first flame… Will you be lucky numero uno? Maybe.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Oh! You must read my next fic, too, that I'm working on with Goten0040 and Lil' Yahiko. It's going to be posted under the name Two Elrics and an Envy… Yeah… They're siblings… So… Yeah, guess who that makes me… For those of you who guessed Envy, you get a cookie!

Sorry, I'm in one of those moods… Probably all the EnvyxEd smut I've been reading all day... O.o You guys probably didn't need to know that... Sorry... :has been reading Elricest as well: o.O If you read my profile, you'd already know that... Well... Yeah. I'm gonna shut up now.

Teacher came on tonight… But, I've already seen it… So… It wasn't really a new episode for me… o.O Damn.

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


	14. Chapter 14

**Points of Authority**

O.o Dude… It's been… Forever since I updated this…

n.n;;;;;;; Sorry… My friends and I have been writing a humor/parody fic, and I've been writing another Endvy yaoi… So…

Yeah, plus with my exams and such…

I'm not failing English! Or Math (I hope)! Or Chemistry! Or History, but that's a given. I'm a history fanatic, I practically inhale that stuff…

Anyway… Yeah, I should stop talking and get on with it…

Sorry for making you wait for Dante's death… n.n;;; I hope I don't get, like, stoned to death or something…

Disclaimer: If I haven't owned FMA in the first chapters of this story, what would make you think that I own it now?

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

Lust smiled as the last of her abrasions was finally healed, and though she felt weak, she knew that Ed must be feeling weaker.

"Such a shame that your little boyfriend thinks so highly of you, Edward," she said, grinning widely.

"Why's that?" he growled, clapping and transmuting his automail into a blade, wincing at the jarring motion of his badly injured shoulder.

"Because you're closer to dead than you'll ever get me," she said fiercely, raising an arm and extending her nails. At that very moment, a gargantuan stone spike came flying out of the wall beside Ed and impaled her, the point hitting her Ouroboros as if it was a bullseye. It imbedded itself in a wall while the homunculus on it died. Ed whirled around.

"Al?"

"I couldn't just stand here and watch you die, brother…" he said. "Not only would Envy be angry with me, which, frankly, scares the life out of me, but then how would we get you your body back?" Ed knew that if the suit of armor could smile, Al's famous heart-wrenching, half-scolding, half-teasing smile would be there. As it were, he could imagine it just as well. He gave a relieved smile.

"Where would I be without you, Alphonse?"

"… Well, I guess you'd be dead right about now."

"Good point. Let's go find Envy."

"What about Lust?"

Both looked to the now obviously irate, not to mention steadily more frantic, Sin caught in a circle of life and death. Ed turned to Al.

"I think she can stand to wait."

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

Envy sighed in frustration. Every time he got even remotely close to the woman, she threw up some stupid alchemic blockade that would waste precious seconds, giving her enough time to stay at least a few feet ahead of him.

"This is getting old…" he muttered. As he broke through yet another wall, he noticed less resistance in it than there was in the others. His eyes lit up. "Getting tired, are we, old hag?" he called tauntingly. "You may as well just give it up now, you're close to death as it is… Well, closer than you've ever been, at least. I'd tell you that it's no big deal, but thanks to you and that bastard of an excuse for a father, I wouldn't know." His grin melted, folded in on itself, turning in to a scowl, his usual mask of fury hiding his pain and betrayal. He couldn't let the mask that he'd so carefully built crack now, not when he was so close, so close to getting the second of three things he wanted.

As he rounded a corner, a dagger caught him across the throat. His hands flew to his neck as a torrent of crimson fluid spewed from the laceration. He fell to the floor, his blood pooling around him, soaking his hair and clothes. Then the alchemic light enveloped him and he sat up, grimacing at the wet feel of his clothes. He stood and continued on, his long hair leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

"God, this is getting old!" he fumed, picking up his pace and honing his ears in on any and every little sound. Among the faint sound of shouting and an even fainter sound of a repeated alchemic reaction of some kind, he heard scratching on the wall ahead of him coupled with labored breathing. He sped up, running silently down the long corridor until he saw a figure up ahead. An almost complete transmutation circle was on the wall in front of her. He stealthily snuck up behind her and peered over her shoulder. The circles were lopsided and the lines jagged. _No wonder the walls were so weak…_ he thought, grinning.

"Whatcha doin?" he whispered. He laughed as she practically jumped out of her skin, the whirled around, pressing herself up against the wall. "What's wrong, mother dear? You look so frightened…" he cooed, reaching out and gently caressing her cheek. Her eyes widened and she flinched away from his touch. A flash of light later, his arm was a blade, and where there was before a gentle caress, a gash lay, revealing the bone of her jaw. She let out a pained cry, hand flying to the wound.

"Envy…" she whispered, "don't do this."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't," he hissed.

"I've taken nothing but care of you—"

"You've used me as a puppet! You tried to have me killed! You call that care!" he snarled, slapping her with the flat of the blade, drawing a line of blood from her ear to her nose, slicing through the delicate cartilage and smiling sadistically as a tear that had escaped her eye ran into the incision, causing Dante to wince. "Now," he whispered, "what to do with you, now that you're totally defenseless and left to the mercy of your eldest creation? Do you beg and whimper and plead for your pathetic excuse of a life, or do you try to use that sorry little transmutation circle behind you? And what shall I do? To torture or to kill?" Dante's eyes widened in fear and Envy chuckled. "Well, now, don't get me wrong, I'll kill you either way…"

A silence fell over the corridor, then was broken by a shout of, "Hey, Brother, I think they went this way!"

A response— "What makes you say that, Al?"

Then blatant sarcasm— "Well, besides the puddle of blood and bloody footprints leading down there? I dunno, call it a hunch."

"… You really need to stop hanging out with Envy, you know that?"

"You're with him more than I am."

Envy sighed. "Looks like I'm not going to get to put you through the torture that you've put me through, mommy dearest." He regarded his blade closely. "How to kill you, though? A cut to the throat? To the heart?"

Dante whimpered. Envy sneered.

"Look at you. Such a strong woman, now faced with the same damn thing that we see every day, and you whimper and whine like a frightened puppy. Is that why you never risked your ass out there trying to find the Stone? Because you feared for your wretched life?" His sneer turned sour, wrath and hatred mixed with malice and bloodlust, and his arm was pulled back. As he paused to allow Dante a final moment, the first of dawn's light shone through a window not ten feet away. "Shame, I could've just let you fall to your death…" he mused, then, as if on a second thought, swung his arm forward, lengthwise between the two of them, and he placed the blade against the fragile and pale flesh of his mother's neck.

"Goodbye, mother. Tell the Gate I said hello," he whispered, then slid his arm across her throat. Blood spewed out of the gash and soaked Envy's neck and chest. Dante crumpled, falling to the ground, eyes open and glassy, staring out at the vast expanses of nothingness with blank eyes and dilated pupils. Had one looked but a bit closer, they could have seen the faint outline of what looked like a gate slowly swinging open, glinting eyes and greedy hands sliding from between the slowly opening doors.

Envy stepped away from the pooling blood, taking in the scene, burning it forever in his memory as his moment of true freedom, the release from the bonds that had so long encompassed him. He looked up to where Ed and Al now stood, both looking at Dante's corpse. Ed raised his eyes to take in Envy's blood soaked appearance. The short blond shook his head.

"You need a shower."

"That's the understatement of the century…" Al murmured, unable to tear his gaze from the body on the floor.

Envy looked down, wrinkling his nose. "I'll agree with Alphonse on that one, Chibi-san."

Ed smiled. "Is your need for revenge sated, Envy?"

Envy looked once more upon the corpse of his "mother."

"Yes. I believe it is. Until I see that bastard, that is."

Ed shook his head again. "Then can we leave? This place really gives me the creeps. Plus that, I think I've lost too much blood from these holes in my stomach, I'm feeling kinda faint…"

Envy laughed softly, turning to Ed again and smiling an actual, heartfelt smile, his first ever to not be laced with sarcasm or malice or hatred or…

"Yes, Edo-koi… Let's go home."

¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦+¦

The End.

n.n I'm fairly happy with this. Yay!

Not so happy with Dante's death, however… I wish it could've been more gruesome, but… Meh. Whatever works.

I love you all, and I'm so happy that you actually rode out this story and took the time to read past my crappy first chapter. XD I hope I didn't disappoint you too badly…

Please don't forget to review… I may try to cook up an epilogue for you… Even if I don't, I'm in the process of another more… :cough: mature story right now, so… Well, I don't know if I'll post it here, but it'll definitely be on my LJ account.

Again, thank all of you for not only helping me break one-hundred with my first actual serious story, but for giving me the encouragement to continue with it till the end. You guys are what keep writers like me going! n.n

Until next time!

Envysloyalservant


	15. Epilogue!

Points of Authority

Yeah, after much deliberation, I've decided to write an epilogue, because I realized that, when I write the sequel, if there's no epilogue, the beginning that I've been plotting won't make any sense. So, here I offer to you an, albeit short, epilogue to Points of Authority. And do keep your eyes out for my sequel, as I have yet to decide on a name for it.

I'm such a procrastinator… In case you guys didn't already know that.

As Envy turned his back upon his fallen comrade in the grand entryway of the now soon-to-be deserted manor, he heard a muffled cry of mixed pain and surprise, then a loud WHUMP. He turned quickly, half-expecting for it to be Lust again. He saw Edward in a heap on the floor, looking none to happy and in not a little bit of pain.

"Oh, yeah, you got speared like a fish, didn't you, Hagane no?"

Ed merely grunted and sent a half-hearted glare in Envy's direction. Envy backtracked and lifted Edward into his arms. He sent a small grin to Alphonse, who was, quite obviously, worried beyond belief.

"Don't worry, Alphonse, if he can live through a beating from me, he can live from a little poke from Lust."

"You know, that's a really disturbing but true point…" Ed commented.

"Shush or I'll drop you, Hagane no," Envy sing-songed. Ed pursed his lips but complied. The three finally made their way out of the door, heading back to Central, Envy being careful not to unnecessarily jostle the currently-fragile Edward.

From the shadows of the house, two amethyst eyes watched their retreating forms. A shark-toothed grimace marred the figure's features as he walked in to find the remains of Lust, the scent of blood permeating the atmosphere and making the air stifling and almost choking.

"So, he took care of Lust, did he?" And up the stairs went the figure, following the signs of a frightened flight made not one hour earlier. Sparse light, just enough to make out the damage ahead of him, filtered through windows in rooms whose doors were opened. Finally, after a long trek through winding hallways, he came to a corner, where the hall made a turn. This corner was slick with blood, coagulating, but still wet. He looked down in disgust as his pointed boots stepped in them, squelching disgustingly. Another grimace, and he looked up to see a still figure laying in the floor, bathed in the light of the rising sun.

"Well, well, if it isn't Dante… So, that means that, not only are Lust and Dante dead, but me, Pride, Wrath, and Sloth are free, huh? But what of Gluttony? Where'd he go…" And with that, the spiky-haired homunculus looked over his shoulder somewhat nervously, as if expecting the ever-hungry being to be there. The hallway, however, remained stoic and empty, and Greed turned with a smirk.

"The others won't be happy to hear that 'Master' is dead… Oh, no… And they'll be rearing to kill the cause of her demise…" A sinister chuckle escaped his finely-filed teeth. "Perhaps, this time, I'll finally be able to see Envy drown in his own blood… And I'll make sure to take his little lover-boy down with him… Oh, yes…"

There. The end. For real. I'll have the first chapter of my new fic posted… Eventually… o.O As soon as I think of a title. Heh… n.n…

Yeah… I'm sure it'll be M this time, cuz I feel like writing a lemon and trying my hand at it…

Me and my twisted fangirly perversions. XD

Anyway, until next time, which I hope will be soon…

I hope you all continue reading and I hope to hear from you all again. It may not look it, but I really have been taking in to consideration all that has been suggested, and mostly putting it to good use (I hope!). I really do cherish all of you for helping me get this many reviews, and I hope to increase them in my next story! Stick with me, kay? I'll get this story finished eventually! XD

Ja, mata!

Envysloyalservant


End file.
